There is a caricature of America’s “pivot” to Asia and it goes something like this: the Middle East and south Asia are the graveyard of US power and prestige and Washington must cut its losses to these ungrateful nations as quickly as possible and turn its full attention to the21st century that is playing out on more peaceful and profitable shores in the Asia-Pacific region. This concept of the pivot is posited not only to be in American interests but is also the supposed preference of most Asian nations.

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