Looks like Russia’s alternative to GPS is now nearing completion at least as far as coverage of Russian territory is concerned. Plans are underway to further expand the system. This doesn’t seem like a big deal, really, but it’s a signal of how other countries are coming to chafe under American hegemony and looking for practical ways to undercut it.

At the end of the day, that kind of trend is very bad for us. Consider, say, Iran. If Moscow and Beijing look at Iranian nuclear activities and think to themselves “nuclear proliferation is bad” then we’re in good shape. If they look at Iranian nuclear activities and think “if checks the Americans, it’s okay by us” then we’re in terrible shape. But both ways are valid interpretations of the situation. Under the circumstances, it’s vitally in our interests to create the kind of climate of international cooperation where the odds favor major foreign powers seeing events through the proliferation frame rather than the “check America” frame. Thus far, we’re not doing a very good job of it.

Spencer Ackerman talks to Barnett Rubin. Rubin says that with Bhutto dead, American strategy is “in tatters.”

Turns out a professional political blogger really ought to check the newspaper before putting up posts about ice girls because even during the holidays big stuff can happen like Benazir Bhutto being assassinated in part of a larger attack that seems to have killed over a dozen people. As usual when there’s a big breaking story like this abroad, there’s probably not a ton I can usefully say about this in the short term but, clearly, it’s a big deal that seems to bode ill for stability in Pakistan and the world in general.