Will the rise of the rest mean the decline of the US?

 

Is the US in terminal decline? Watch Mark Mardell's full report from North Dakota for The Editors programme.

"I joke that when things are really stressful and going very wrong, some people in my business say: "It's only television." They can hardly say: "It's only nuclear war.""

It is eerie to walk so close to a weapon of mass destruction.

The B-52 bomber is one of the ultimate expressions of American power. If the president decides to drop a nuclear bomb, this is the sort of aircraft that would do it.

"I am careful not to step over the red line around the plane. A sign painted on the ground warns lethal force can be used against those who cross it without authorisation.

I've come to Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, filming for the new BBC One programme The Editors."

Read more... Faith in the nature of American power