ABSTRACT
Over a decade has passed since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. The American people are reassessing the global “war on terror,” as they consider the tremendous expansion of their country's defense spending (now projected to shrink) and national debt (which remains frustratingly protracted). They are at the same time observing with perhaps increasing envy the economic status of the newly emerging countries (Apps 2011). US interest in Asia is growing, reflecting the anticipation that Asia can serve as the future engine for economic growth, but there is also concern over latent instability in the region (German Marshall Fund of the United States et al. 2011). In the wake of the recent global financial crisis, it seems as if the moment for anticipating American “unipolarity” has passed, and the focus is moving to discussions on the global power shifts and the potential changes to the international order that entails. President Barack Obama's recent heralding of an American “pivot strategy” towards the Asia-Pacific has reinforced these trends ( Washington Post 2011). The United States seems to be greeting the Asian “revival” with its own “return” to Asia.
