America is an empire. It has been since at the end of WWII and some might say since the end of WWI. Honest thinkers, like George Friedman, will admit this. Unfortunately, we rarely hear this from conservative thinkers, since they hold onto the Cincinnatian ideal that America has always been, and should remain a Republic after the vision of the Founding Fathers, who consciously modelled America after the Roman Republic, and its Anglo-Saxon derivatives. It is worth noting, that in Rome the fiction of the Roman Republic was maintained throughout its imperial period. More over, an Empire can exist under most forms of government.
America began to vie for hegemonic empire very early in its existence. Even before it became officially a country, the Continental Congress realized that Sea Power would be key to the budding republic's survival. Also, it was quickly grasped by the key players in the early days of the republic that continental control from sea to sea would also be key to the USA's …More