OUR EMBARRASSMENT  - AT 9:47 A.M. ET:   Reader James Birdsall alerts us to this piece from Japan's Asahi Shimbun.  It's clear that Japan is worried about North Korea, so worried that it may change its constitution to deal with the threat:

An advisory panel to Prime Minister Taro Aso on Tuesday called for a change to the interpretation of the Constitution that would allow Japanese forces to shoot down missiles fired by North Korea at the United States.

The controversial proposal to grant Japan the right to exercise collective self-defense was one of several changes needed to protect the country in a rapidly shifting national security environment, the panel of nine experts said.

In a report presented to the prime minister, the panel also suggested easing the country's tough restriction on weapons exports.

And...

The report also touched on the possible need to strike enemy military bases, and called for discussions with the United States about how to divide up roles when jointly undertaking such a mission. The report proposed that Japan consider the appropriate military equipment, operational methods and cost-benefit analysis needed for such an attack.

But then there's this, which should embarrass us, but not surprise us, in light of the Obama administration's foreign policy:

The relative decline in the power of the United States meant that Japan needed a more flexible approach to its national security strategy, the panel said.

COMMENT:  Did you ever think you'd read those words? 

Japan gets it.  It sees what the age of Obama is really about, and it doesn't like what it sees.  I suspect the same thinking is going on in other countries - friend...and foe.

August 16, 2009