> the US isn't an empire, having a large army doesn't mean you are an empire An empire is a political unit that controls vast parts of the world and dictate th

> the US isn't an empire, having a large army doesn't mean you are an empire An empire is a political unit that controls vast parts of the world and dictate their policies through military and economic means. This fits well on how the US operates. Unlike any other country, the US has military deployed practically in all continents and major oceans. The only difference between the US empire and the British empire is that the US likes to propagandize about the apparent freedom of their vassal states. In many part of the world, elections are only uphold if the elected support US policies (mainly through economic coercion), and when this doesn't happen the country is a target of coups, "regime change", or enters the "black list" of sanctions. For this reason, the US has several foreign spying and "regime changing" institutions, including the most famous CIA and NSA. All of this supported by mainstream US media, which has international reach and influence media in other countries. This is obvious with what happens at Venezuela, Iran, and Russia. More recently, China is entering the black list because it is increasingly seen as a threat to the US political hegemony.