Imperialism? Not really.

Second reading assignment -- Mark Steyn on why the US is not imperialist. Honestly, this should be self-evident because the US is not a conquerer or a colonial master like Britain, France, Spain, Germany and Belgium (which was the worst of all: from 1885-1908, King Leopold II's colonial dictatorship over the Belgian Congo killed about 10 million of the 20 million Congolese; see here and here for some detail). The US pattern is simple: overthrow the dictator, rebuild the society and polity and get out. Proof? Germany, Japan and the current plan for Iraq.