Just 15 numbers tell the history of the past seven years in which a once wealthy and relatively secure nation near-bankrupted itself, pursued chimeras and funded chaos-causing wars that left it poorer and less safe than ever before.
In abandoning empire, the US could follow Britain and be a republic. Empire could turn out to be quagmire or nosedive. Narcissus fell in love with his reflection and drowned (cf. "Nemesis" by Chalmers Johnson).
to read the article by Tom Engelhardt published in: Le Monde diplomatique, June 2008, click on
http://mondediplo.com/2008/06/06ussecurity
Original: US: security's bottom line