Mark Steyn:

My colleague is falling prey to theories of “imperial overstretch”. But, if you’re not imperial, it’s quite difficult to get overstretched. By comparison with 19th century empires, the Americans travel light. More to the point, their most obvious “overstretch” is in their historically unprecedented generosity to putative rivals: unlike traditional imperialists, they garrison not remote ramshackle colonies but their wealthiest allies. The US picks up the defence tab for Europe, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, among others. As Americans have learned in the last 18 months, absolving wealthy nations of the need to maintain their own armies does not pay off in the long run. This overstretch is over. If Bush wins a second term, the boys will be coming home from South Korea and Germany, and maybe Japan, too.

I can't wait to hear the cries from the Left when Bush pulls the troops where they're not needed. How much money does one good-sized base contribute to a local economy? Ask the Phillipines. When the Phillipino Senate refused to extend basing rights, the towns surrounding Subic Bay and Clark Air Force base were economically devastated. You can read about Olongapo here.