DASHNOTE:

If you missed Anatol Lieven's essay (ostensibly a book review) in the Nation, you should read it now, linked here: "The Empire Strikes Back".

It's as true now as it was when it was written, way back in June or July. (Published in July 7, 2003 issue.)

Here's a taste: "Given its immense wealth, the United States can afford a military capable of dominating the earth; or it can afford a stable, secure system of social and medical entitlements for a majority of its aging population; or it can afford massive tax cuts for its wealthiest citizens and no tax raises for the rest. But it cannot afford all three..."