USA vs Imperial Rome

[Frodo]

I think we bear a closer resemblance to imperial Athens when it was head of the Delian League (NATO being the equivalent in our own era).  Rome never bothered with alliances the way Athens and the United States have done, for it was strong enough without them.  I very much doubt we could dominate the entire world without NATO and the wider network of alliances that undergird our imperium, for they enable a wider acceptance that give us our legitimacy as the world superpower.  I don't think we fully appreciate how much we owe our current status to the system of alliances we have steadily built and nurtured around the globe.