With China on the move, DOD observes that "The United States continues to work with our allies and friends in the region to monitor these developments and adjust our policies accordingly."  But the resulting policy adjustment should be reducing America's international ambitions rather than increasing America's military spending. Washington should replace dominance with defense as the core of its foreign policy.

Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former special assistant to President Reagan, he is the author of Foreign Follies: America's New Global Empire (Xulon Press).