Dare call it an empire

Alex Cockburn observes that, "Suddenly, the word 'empire' is everywhere, scattered through the opinion columns like rose petals before a conquering hero." But, he contends, this is nothing new: "The basic aims of American international strategy have changed barely at all since the end of the Second World War. The difference is in the degree of frankness with which the brute realities of world domination are discussed."