Tom

Exactly! Many people decry GB for wresting countries from their primitive indigenous races? Say what? Another word for a country? - State. What is the US but an "empire" (albeit internally peaceful and content with the "Pax Americana"), comprising half a continent, and taken from its original inhabitants? cf. the carving up of Africa by European states, into individual nations/states that never existed before.

And yes, the US doesn't stop: Guam, Hawaii, Andelusian Islands?, et al. Of course the US has more bases than the UK, cos the US Empire still exists and, of course, has a much bigger navy, army, air force, and world influence. It even includes, as I understand, territories extorted off GB during WW II, as "payment" for lend-lease, Liberty Ships, and stuff. Thus as the British Empire waned the US Empire waxed.

After our few centuries of expansion and conquest, here we are back in the box. And some of the ex-colonies are now mini-empires themselves: Australia has a bunch of outlying islands, not least Tasmania; India has a few, etc. Doesn't seem fair really, does it? "We're independant of you now. Oh, and while we're at it, we'll have those extra bits that didn't originally belong to anyone either (but its aboriginies)".

Terry

>Terry;
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>>Come on! Hardly an Empire. It's a commonwealth, bit like the USA - but dispersed more :-)
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>Empire, Commonwealth, Republic, Territory etc. are only political terms, which indicate some form of subjection. One country in some way or form controls another. The controlling country sees this as not a problem, while the occupied nation views it differently.
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>When it comes to being ‘dispersed more’, we have always done our best to further such matters without thought of how the world may view us. It fact we are still trying to add to our list.
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>If you add the nations of the world where United States Military Bases are located I think we have a greater presence than the UK has. I look upon our overseas bases as “occupying forces”. A bit like the Romans. :)
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>http://www.lib.uconn.edu/online/research/govtinfo/ConnState/territ.html
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>Tom