The American Empire

We hear more and more frequently about “The American Empire.” Of course many object to this description of the great American Republic which is supposed to be based on freedom and the rights of man, while the word empire conjures images of enslaved peoples and conquered territories. These seem to be images that do not go together. Some of that seeming difference may be a misunderstanding of the word empire which does carry a lot of baggage with it. A dictionary definition of empire is “an aggregate of peoples and territories, often of great extent, under the rule of a single person, oligarchy, or sovereign state.” This seems to refute the claim of Donald Rumsfeld in 2003 that “We don’t seek empires. We’re not imperialistic; we never have been.”

Under that definition, America may very honestly be considered an empire. After all, the most patriotic of Americans will freely admit (or even brag) that America is an aggregate of a great many peoples and a vast territory. All of those people and territories clearly fall under the rule of the American Government. What about the more common perception of empire as a state that rules over other peoples and aggrandizes its own interests at the cost of its neighbors through political and military force? Would America still meet that definition of empire?

There are currently American bases on every continent of the world, except Antarctica. Well over half a million American service personnel are spread across the world and we currently deploy 13 naval task force groups that can extend American military might even further. In 2003 the US military listed over 700 overseas military locations where it either owns or rents bases. Even the number 700 may be a gross underestimation since many known US military sights are not listed. This vast extent of bases far outweighs the number and strength of any previous world empire. From a purely military point of view, the US meets any definitions of empire that makes sense.

However, do not empires possess colonies? The Roman Empire had colonies as well as the British Empire and all other others that can be considered true empires. Chalmers Johnson, a former CIA consultant and scholar, maintains that America’s overseas bases themselves constitute our colonies. Going further, he claims that America is following the path of the Roman Empire, in that this path of world influence and conquest are the greatest threat to our democracy. Recall that Roman democracy was not brought down by a foreign power, but by an internal coup d’état by the powerful Roman elites. Chalmer calls on America to follow the British Empire’s example which (by his view) saved it’s democracy by surrendering its overseas Empire at the end of WW2.