The International Security and Advisory Board, which reports to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, has recommended that the US increase its nuclear arsenal to counter a perceived threat from China.

This seems very odd to me since, essentially, the Chinese are the bankers to the almost bankrupt US. The Chinese don't need nuclear weapons to take over the US, all they have to do is to foreclose. But I guess that is what this is really all about - the US is threatening China not to take that action and if they do, watch out, we can still nuke you.

Here is the article from the Daily Telegraph:

"U.S. needs more nuclear arms to fight China threat, report says.

SHANGHAI ·
The United States must increase its nuclear arsenal in response to China’s growing military might, a report for the State Department has recommended.
The International Security and Advisory Board, which reports to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, gave warning that “holding the U.S. homeland hostage to missile attack is important to Chinese military goals.”
It claimed that China would have “in excess of 100 nuclear-armed missiles that could strike the United States” by 2015.
By contrast, it said the U.S. had allowed its nuclear stockpile and expertise to “deteriorate and atrophy for the last two decades.
The board is led by Paul Wolfowitz, the former World Bank president who was often referred to as the “major architect” of the war in Iraq while he was U.S. deputy secretary of defence.
He was appointed by Ms. Rice last year. Other hawkish members of the board include James Schlesinger, the former defence secretary. Executives from arms companies such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing also sit on the board.
The board was asked to draft a report on how the U.S. could bring its relationship with China “towards greater transparency and mutual confidence.”
Hans M. Kristensen, a director at the Federation of American Scientists, an anti-nuclear think-tank in Washington, said that instead, the report “appears to have drawn up a very effective plan for a Cold War with China.”
“The authors land on a set of recommendations and observations that strongly resemble a China version of the Reagan administration’s aggressive military posture against the Soviet Union,” he said.
The 10-page report, which was leaked on the Internet, seems to justify a decision by Washington to sell $6.5 billion worth of arms to Taiwan, a move that has infuriated China.
The report suggests that a conflict between the U.S. and China could be triggered by the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty and claims China will invade the island in the near future.
The report claims China has “new thermonuclear warheads as well as tactical arms, encompassing enhanced radiation weapons, nuclear artillery, and anti-ship weapons.”
U.S. intelligence reports, however, say there is no evidence of a tactical nuclear arsenal.
The report also claims that “Chinese espionage in the United States is comprehensive and pervasive” and that there is no point in trying to shape Chinese policy by “educating” the Chinese. Instead, the U.S. must build a new missile shield and “undertake the development of new weapons.”