It has been said that there are no winners in a nuclear war, but the Russians and the Chinese have been feverishly preparing to fight one anyway.  When I was growing up, I was taught that nobody would ever dare start a nuclear war because both sides would fire their missiles and everyone would die.  In those days the doctrine of "mutual assured destruction" was universally accepted in the United States, and once the Cold War ended our politicians saw no more need to upgrade our missiles or to develop cutting edge anti-missile technologies.  Unfortunately, the balance of power has changed dramatically over the past decade.  Russia and China have both made enormous leaps forward, and that puts us in a very precarious position.

In recent days, Republicans in Congress have been buzzing about a new report "from the top commander of U.S. nuclear forces" that says that China now has more launchers for land-based nuclear missiles than the U.S. does…

Top Republicans on Capitol Hill are raising alarms over news that China has surpassed the U.S. in its number of launchers for land-based nuclear missiles — and arguing for the U.S. to expand its own arsenal to keep pace.

Four GOP leaders on the House and Senate Armed Services committees said the revelation about China's nuclear capability, made in a Jan. 26 letter from the top commander of U.S. nuclear forces, is a warning that Beijing's arsenal is expanding faster than anticipated, though the U.S. still has more warheads and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

This wasn't supposed to happen.