Defense cuts could threaten `Achilles' heel' of U.S. power

The Japanese government recently issued a diplomatic white paper calling China "assertive" toward its neighbors. Despite the namby-pamby choice of words - China merely assertive? - Beijing pitched a fit.

It huffed its "strong opposition," reminded Tokyo yet again of Japanese aggression in World War II and accused Tokyo of furthering the "China threat theory," as if no such thing existed - even though China never misses an opportunity to rattle its neighbors' nerves.

It was a small incident, but a reminder that the security climate in a critical part of the world is becoming more dicey. At the same time, Iran continues its drive to dominate the Persian Gulf, with the goal of controlling one of the most important choke points of the world's energy supply.

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