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This White House has proved it can't walk and chew gum at the same time. Coordinated, simultaneous pressure from Russia and China is more than Obama can deal with.

Manila's acceptance of a beefed-up U.S. military presence, a politically sensitive issue in the independent-minded archipelago nation, would reveal the scale of Philippine anxiety over China. The Philippine Senate voted to evict the U.S. military from their bases in 1991, ending 94 years of American military presence in the Philippines, and has only gradually allowed the return of U.S. forces for limited operations during the past decade.

We're also kinda sensitive about putting our boys in harm's way for somebody else's territory. If they dislike us that much, maybe they shouldn't ask us to help them ward off the Chinese.

That Obama is making our "allies" anxious is a good thing. They should be anxious. There's an 800 lb gorilla called China on their doorstep. They should be spending much more on defense to deal with expansive Chinese territorial ambitions. Their policy now is to fight China to the last dead GI. If they think Uncle Sam might not adhere to their script, they might end up increasing their defense spending. And that would be good for American interests.