An empire in all but name
The US is now an empire in all but name.
Character flaws: the US can inflict great damage while sustaining none, and is programmed to rebuild itself, but not others. That's its problem. By Niall Ferguson.
Changing a regime is easy, but how is it going to be replaced and by what?
Invading a country without allies on the ground is a historical first. No previous empire did it. When the British ruled india, they did so with an army that was three-quarters Indian and an administration that was nine-tenths indian (Michael Mann).
Raoul