Is American declining.... or is the World gaining?

Here is a link to an artic recently published by an online version of Al lazeera commenting on an intelligence article written by the United States government on the US and global forecasts in the upcoming future.
Al Jazeera English - Americas - US power 'to decline by 2025'

History is not static. There is an ebb and flow of every country's strength, be it economic, territorial, militarily, et. cet. Such as it was with the Ottoman Empire, Roman Empire, Nazi Germany, Persian Empire, the British Empire, but you can see what I"m driving at.
Let's get one thing straight. The United States isn't perfect. Mistakes have been made throughout its history along with spectacular successes. For those who regularly look at the negative side of America have to consider from where their prejudices lie. Do you look to and listen to only people who already agree with these prejudices? If a man stands at the bottom of a valley without bothering to climb the hills to see over the horizon, he can only listen to people who live in the valley at their word. True or not.The United States will not diminish, but I believe that other countries will grow. Far from not wanting this, the US should and will prosper with the lessening of its global burdens

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The Russian Agenda

The Russians are playing a game of realpolitik.
They've recognized with the transition of power form the Bush Administration to President-elect Obama that a golden opportunity was afforded them to help bolster their security needs.  As well as try to establish some sort of a sphere of influence in their former satellite countries.
They saw the weakened Bush administration could and would not be able to do anything when they invaded their neighboring country over the Ossetian mess.
But now they're threatening to place short range missiles near the Baltic states borders that could easily strike most of Europe.  IN what they call a response to the missile shield that Bush had put forth to protect Europe from rogue middle eastern states nuclear missile attacks.  The few interceptors that could possibly engage the incoming missiles in flight MAY be enough to deter small states plans to launch but never be able to stop a determined Russian missile attack.  Clearly the Russians are trying to reassert some form of dominance in the area.
And now this: the possiblility of Russian bombers capable of delivering nuclear bombs to the United States based in Cuba.
Testing.. always testing are the Russians.
It may not be a cold war and hopefully never a hot one, but for right now the Russians are tryying to get every advantage they can get from this time of controlled confusion in the US.  They may perceive our elections as a weakness to be exploited. I see them as a reaffirmation of the strength of the American system. 
Flawed as this slightly imperfect democracy, it is clearly a role model for the world.  Finally.  Once again.
WE shall soon see what comes next.....

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And the poll says

I came across an interesting article that cited a Gallup poll concerning how the Muslim world views themselves and their values.
Here is a direct quote from the article:
“Majorities of both men and women in many predominantly Muslim countries want to see Islamic principles, Sharia, as a source of legislation. These respondents have much in common with the majority of Americans who wish to see the Bible as a source of legislation. Both groups emphasize the importance of family values and are deeply concerned about issues of social morality. In fact, what respondents in the Muslim world and a significant number of Americans say they admire least about Western civilization is an excessive libertinism in society.”
So, what this seems to be telling us is that both people in the West and Muslim countries want to base their laws on their respective predominant religions.
Fine. However I notice that in Muslim countries that their predominant religion is what ----Islam right? It probably would, could, and will be a fine set of guidelines for these countries. But most of the Arab countries so far as I know aren't democracies. And yes, democracy and islam should be able to coexist. Its their leaders and the extremists in these countries that subvert the religion to their own ends. Islam is a stricter religion than some making, I believe, it easier to channel its immense power and passions to less than desirable ends.
But in the west, with its more traditional democracies that embrace a wider degree of beliefs and religions, its harder to push religion upon the government.
Don't fet me wrong. Christian values are excellent guidelines for the laws made in the west. I happen to believe in them myself. But there has to be be a separation between church and state.
Let our laws be guided by basic moral precepts..... and let people choose what religion to follow as a matter of free will.... not because strict religious laws would force them to.

Russian Relations

I recently came across an article online from a site called Interfax.ru. Here's a link: http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11975866. In the article, a Mr. Konstantin Sivkov, the first vice president of the Russian Academy of Geopolitical Problems, states that there is a three way conspiracy between China, the United States and the European Union to conquer and divided up Russia within the next decade.
My god! Apparently our country doesn't have the market cornered on crackpots espousing lunatic ideas! Besides the fact that the US hasn't actually kept any territory its gained by conquest since....when again exactly??
There are numerous arguments against such a scenario never happening. The US military forces are already stretched thin the the regional conflicts we're already embroiled in, let alone starting World War III. Another is, the European Union surely would rather solve its problems in a peaceful manner. These are social and economic problems, not territorial ambitions for goodness sake! And cold reality states that we'd never want China taking a huge chunk of Russian territory and resources.
The only way this view has countenance in the Russian government would be to bring the country together on the domestic front. An us against them mentality that can be quite dangerous if not kept under control.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be perusing some Russian real estate literature..... after all, I'll need to be ready to purchase my new dacha along the Volga River won't I??