Will America pivot back to President Obama’s “pivot to Asia”? A battle royale is brewing around President Trump’s nominee to serve as policy chief in the Department of Defense, Elbridge Colby. A grandson of the CIA director in the 1970s, William Colby, the 45-year-old widely known as Bridge pursues policy tenets that  might be summed up, to paraphrase the Godfather’s Peter Clemenza, as “leave the Middle East, take China.”

Although much more nuanced than that, Mr. Colby’s national security recommendations are based on the premise that since America’s resources are limited, and as Communist China’s power rises, America will need to prioritize: Our European and Mideast allies will increasingly handle their own affairs, as America grows its military to deter Beijing from dragging America into possible Asian wars, such as defense of Free China.