Multiple definitions I guess. NATO countries are very much part of the US empire but pretty much all the countries that we have military bases in would be part

Multiple definitions I guess. NATO countries are very much part of the US empire but pretty much all the countries that we have military bases in would be part of a looser definition of the US empire. We can control international relations that most of Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea have to a fairly strong degree. I would say this along with us having had fairly strong influence in the economies of these countries historically and our ability to easily coordinate military operations with them make these countries part of the US empire.