Charles Krauthammer: "On Wednesday, it finally happened -- the pivot to Asia. No, not the United States. It was Russia that turned East. In Shanghai, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a spectacular energy deal -- $400 billion of Siberian natural gas to be exported to China over 30 years. ... The contrast with President Obama's own vaunted pivot to Asia is embarrassing. He went to Japan last month also seeking a major trade agreement that would symbolize and cement a pivotal strategic alliance. He came home empty-handed. ... His pivot to Asia remains a dead letter. Yet his withdrawal from the Middle East ... is a fait accompli. The retreat is compounded by Obama's proposed major cuts in defense spending ... even as Russia is rearming and China is creating a sophisticated military soon capable of denying America access to the waters of the Pacific Rim. Decline is not a condition. Decline is a choice, Obama's choice. And it's the one area where he is succeeding splendidly."