It’s never surprising when I have to take something which by all appearances seems a positive action on the part of the Obama Administration, and qualify it with something else that basically cancels that action out. The recent military fly by over the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, was most certainly an “in your face” to Beijing, and turns out wholly appropriate response to the People’s Republic of China’s declaration that it would now include the area in its air-defense grid application. But here’s the problem.

Recently the Chinese government boasted of a submarine fleet that could park off the coast of California and kill 10’s of millions of Americans without warning, and the Obama gang didn’t say boo. Now maybe yesterday’s action was a belated “in your face”. Or could it be respect for the United States has declined to a point that the president who would bring about unprecedented change for the better in terms of our international relationships, has screwed up so badly that he doesn’t even know where to begin addressing the critical matter of American deterrence around the globe.

To be sure, China and United States are, to a degree at least, dependent upon one another. But make no mistake, as has been the case throughout history, totalitarian regimes will seize on every opportunity and perceived weakness to move the pendulum in their direction. Listening to one Chinese student (on state-run T.V. of course), talk about how they should have shot down one of our B-52’s as a warning, was nothing short of chilling.