| I just finished Chalmers Johnson's, The Sorrows of Empire this morning and I intend to use it as a source for some of my arguments. There are numerous sources available by googling "american empire" as well, and the different arguments there go ten pages deep or more.
Johnson argues that the far flung BASES of the US military are the outposts of the Empire, maintaining the control without which no empire would be possible. He states that imperialism and militarism go hand in hand in the creation of empire. Is there any doubt that the American project is militarist? (I use the term "project" to allow for debate over whether the effort is a republic or empire or both or neither) Could there be a non-militarist empire? And is the US truly militarist or just "agressively defensive?" :(
One item Johnson does not call into question is the current State of Emergency. He argues from many standpoints that the decline from republic is already far advanced, but doesn't bring this one up. I choose to see this as a root of the decline. The SoE delegates all decision-making authority into the hands of the President. Even though his authority is limited by the US constitution, that limit has been so far exceeded that he is arguably now the Emperor of the US. For obvious reasons the subject is not broached publically.
Johnson was himself an apologist for Cold War policies, not a flaming commie. His viewpoint began to morph AFTER the Cold War, when the military effort and the "empire of bases" did not diminish.
"Arms in the hands of the citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of the country, the overthrow of tyranny or private self-defense." -- John Adams |