Iraq War Critics: Amitai Etzioni on the End of Empire

Back during the Vietnam War, it was pretty much the radical left who complained about "empire" and "imperialism." The terms were considered less than respectable in more mainstream circles. Not least because Soviet and Chinese Communists endlessly denounced "American imperialism."

Now, many war hawks openly talk about imperialism as a desirable thing. "Benign" imperialism, of course. Ivo Daalder and James Lindsay have suggested the term "democratic imperialists" for the proponents of using US power to impose democracy on the Middle East. General Wesley Clark's important new book Winning Modern Wars is subtitled Iraq, Terrorism, and the American Empire.

"Communitarian" philospher Amitai Etzioni uses the term as well, in an article originally in the International Herald Tribune of 11/13/03:

Now that the American empire is collapsing around our ears, it
is the turn of those who favored a multipolar world - and one in which the
United Nations plays a key role - to show that they can do better.

Although no one in Washington has noticed it yet, the days of
the American empire are numbered. The notion that one can govern the world by
military might has found its limit. ... The macho declaration of pre-emption is
already passé.

Moreover, the U.S. armed forces are stretched thin in Iraq and
Afghanistan and the American public willingness to accept more casualties and
costs is rapidly fading. Far from going it alone, the United States is courting
allies and friends, hat in hand, to share the burden of nation-building in these
two countries. Washington felt forced to go pleading with the United Nations to
grant its blessing for what needs to be done. Although it has obtained a UN
resolution, it will not provide much relief in terms of funds or military
forces.