Eric Li’s op-ed in the New York Times, timed to coincide with the annual round-up of big wigs (with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey leading the U.S. delegation) in Singapore, the Shangri-La Dialogue, is a useful reminder of the many good things American power has done to lay the foundation for what’s supposed to be the “Pacific Century.” Any time the Times permits even an ironic two cheers for the American Leviathan (the headline is “Hang On, Leviathan, Hang On”), it’s a good day – worth quoting at length: