TheUS has troops in 144 countries, and now we're going to conquer most of the Middle East. We're an empire, and empires always fall. Get a clue.
No, we are not. Saying so does not make it so.
Further, we do not have troops in that many countries. In addition, we do not intend to be in Europe within the next five years. Expect us to bring everyone home from Germany.
A feature of all empires is direct rule from the "metropolitan" center using local stooges to back up your imperium and imperial troops to enforce order on the fozzies at the point of a bayonet. That is not what we are about.
The American people are isolationist by nature. The American governing classes, at least those on the conservative side of the ledger, are resolute in their application of national interest. From time to time, you'll get wooly-headed multilateralism such as that which game from the Clinton Administration. But that is the exception, rather than the rule.
The National Security Strategy that Condi Rice came up with is driven by national interest, not empire building. It recognizes that the United States must deal with mortal threats to the Republic and its people before they strike at us. The American governing classes recognize that Empire leads to penury in the long run.
I suspect you will be seeing a lot of homeward deployments after the war with Iraq is over, starting with Germany. When the Korean imbroglio is completed, we will bring 2nd Division home from there, as well.
Our presence in the world will consist primarily of naval deployments. That is in the nature of our business. It's the way we've always done things. Extended garrison stays are very few and far between, and have been the result of bipartisan political agreement (Germany, Korea), and will, in the end, end.
This article is the flip side of what I read in the European press, these days. Leave aside Japan and its corrupt, Yakuza based economy. Europe is awash in regulations and Islamic infiltration. Compare their population to that of the United States: we are growing, they are not. Our economy will continue to grow. Their's will grow less. Part of it has to do with population growth. We're the largest economy in the world, and will remain so for some time to come, simply because America is the safest place on earth to put your money. China is a comer, but that nation is sitting on tens of millions of unemployed, a critical surplus of young males, it is awash in corruption and graft, and the nation has a history of violent civil wars and warlordism. We do not.
Imho, a bit of sour grapes from our neighbor to the north.
Be Seeing You,
Chris