Pakistan, May 26 -- The "Russians are coming" is no longer the title of a humorous Cold War movie. A damaged Soviet submarine has to be put into a small New England seaport for repairs. The animosity and fear of the residents end in friendship and gratitude as one of the Soviet sailors rescues a small child. The rest is Kismet. The movie ends with the repaired sub sailing away, guarded by a phalanx of small boats crewed by the townspeople to prevent the US Navy from attacking the Soviet ship. Ah, what halcyon days the Cold War were!

Today, Russia is the "acute" threat after China. That acute has two opposite meanings, one being sharp, shrewd or astute, escaped these US makers of strategy. And despite the million or so dead and wounded th...