A Welcome Return to the Guam Doctrine

Beginning of article

On June 28, with most of the nation's news media preoccupied with the Supreme Court's decision on the constitutionality of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, CNN quietly reported Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's announcement that the U.S. military soon will begin deploying specialized Army units around the world to assist friendly nations in developing and improving their own self-defense capabilities.

"In the past," CNN quoted Panetta, "the United States often assumed the primary role of defending others. We built permanent bases. We deployed large forces across the globe to fixed positions. We often assumed that others were not willing or capable of defending themselves. Our new …