IS THE AMERICAN SUN SETTING? - AT 10:21 P.M. ET:  A disturbing note from one of our most reliable allies, from The Wall Street Journal:

Since World War II, U.S. military dominance has underpinned the Asia-Pacific region's prosperity and relative peace. So it's cause for concern when one of America's closest allies sees that power ebbing amid unstable nuclear regimes such as Pakistan and North Korea and the expanding military power of China.

In the preface to a sweeping defense review released Saturday, Australian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon writes: "The biggest changes to our outlook . . . have been the rise of China, the emergence of India and the beginning of the end of the so-called unipolar moment; the almost two-decade-long period in which the pre-eminence of our principal ally, the United States, was without question."

COMMENT:  The Australians don't predict an imminent collapse of American power, but they do see a trend, and are beefing up their own defenses. 

It's very sad to see this.  We did not see reports like this until Barack Obama took office.  Are the Australians being alarmist, or have they identified a reality that many in our own country, obsessed with feeling good about themselves by having a minority president, refuse to see?

May 7, 2009