Venezuela in TW 2000

[Legbreaker]

The KGB have had quite a number of sleeper agents within the US during the cold war. It would be a reasonable assumption for them to have had contingency orders to follow in case of war, with many of them assigned to sabotage industry vital to the war effort. Refineries are a prime target for this sort of activity - only takes a few small charges planted in various locations to take the entire facility out of action.
Keeping the refineries in close to pristine condition radically changes the game setting. It allows for the quick production of petroleum based fuels and large scale movements by large forces (see the destruction of the US 5th ID as an example of what would happen). The lack of fuel is vital to the setting.

The Soviets had a number of SLCMs during the 1980s and onward. These were/are more than capable of rendering refineries inoperable too. Then there's their strategic bomber force which could certainly reach some areas of the US (Alaska as a certainty, other areas depending on aircraft model and a number of other factors). These too didn't have to be armed with nukes.

They didn't have to hit every last possible target either. Just the threat of an attack would send the workers scurrying for cover and with only a skeleton staff remaining in most facilities (at best) accident would likely increase in both number and severity. Some facilities could in fact have been damaged just because there wasn't enough of the right people left to operate it correctly!

And you're right about the neutral countries. Why indeed bother with them when you're actual enemy still has the capability you're trying to deny them? The canon seems to support this by mentioning the attacks on neutrals.

It would seem fairly clear after properly assessing the information provided in the game materials that the US (and other combatant nations of course) have very little industrial capability remaining.