The American Empire and 9/11 - Journal of 9/11 Studies

empire was generally portrayed, especially byneoconservatives, as benign. Robert Kagan spoke of “TheBenevolent Empire.” 3 Dinesh D’Souza, after writing that“America has become an empire,” added that happily it is“the most magnanimous imperial power ever.” 4Commentators from the left, however, presented aradically different view. A 2003 book by Noam Chomsky wassubtitled America’s Quest for Global Dominance. 5 RichardFalk wrote of the Bush administration’s “global dominationproject,” which posed the threat of “global fascism.” 6Chalmers Johnson, once a conservative who believed Americanforeign policy aimed at promoting freedom and democracy,described the United States as “a military juggernaut intenton world domination.” 7Bacevich, although still a conservative, had come toaccept the left’s assessment of this empire. He ridiculedthe claim “that the promotion of peace, democracy, and humanrights and the punishment of evil-doers--not the pursuit ofself-interest--[has] defined the essence of Americandiplomacy.” 8 Pointing out that the aim of the US militaryhas been “to achieve something approaching omnipotence,”3 Robert Kagan, “The Benevolent Empire,” Foreign Policy, Summer 1998: 24-35.4 Dinesh D’Souza, “In Praise of an American Empire,” Christian ScienceMonitor, April 26, 2002.5 Noam Chomsky, Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for GlobalDominance (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2003).6 Richard Falk, “Will the Empire Be Fascist?” Global Dialogues, 2003;“Resisting the Global Domination Project: An Interview with Prof.Richard Falk,” Frontline, 20/8 (April 12-25, 2003).7 Chalmers Johnson, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and theEnd of the Republic (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2004), 33, 4.8 Bacevich, American Empire, 7, 46.2