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.”