Tom Donnelly goes big picture on the administration's missile defense capitulation at the new Center for Defense Studies blog(which is THE WEEKLY STANDARD blog's new favorite blog) under the apropos headline "A Bad Day for Freedom." He leads with a quote from former Czech PM Mirek Topolanek, this "is not good news for the Czech state, for Czech freedom and independence." Donnelly goes on,
This is a neat summary not only of the Czech Republic's strategic position, but also that of all of America's allies, be they in eastern or western Europe, the greater Middle East, South or East Asia. Ultimately, this is not about the utility of missile defenses, relations with Russia or Iran, but about the United States and its role as the guarantor of international security. Nearly every day brings a new and chilling wind from the White House for our allies. Today it is felt in central Europe. Meanwhile, an agonized Obama cannot decide whether he's really committed to winning "the Good War" in Afghanistan; the administration is eternally debating "first principles" rather than effective ways and means. Meanwhile, Pakistan is accelerating its nuclear program against the day when Washington turns its head. Meanwhile, Iraqi factions are jockeying for advantage after the Americans go; they already understand they've been forgotten. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration's "strategic partnership" with India is on hold. Meanwhile, a new Japanese government contemplates life alone in the shadow of rising China and a defiant North Korea. Meanwhile, Australia begins to "hedge" against the ebbing of American power in the Pacific. Meanwhile, the Pentagon conducts a defense review asking not how much is enough, but how little can we get by on. The Obama Administration is proving to be not a collection of foxy tacticians, but a collective hedgehog that knows one big thing: political capital spent exercising American power abroad is capital lost in reshaping American society at home.
There's a lot more there, read the whole thing.