Why bring up this subject? Maybe I just like controversial topics. More likely, this one is crucial for Americans to understand, right now. Imperial overstretch never ends in a pleasant way.

You cannot separate politics and economics. Your financial welfare depends upon a keen understanding of overt as well as hidden political agendas.

Well-known empires are from the Roman and British eras. There are debates as to the actual starting points and overall length of the Roman Empire. The longest period I saw was from 752 B.C. to 1476 A.D. That’s 2228 years and is nothing short of astounding. Let’s estimate the British Empire from 1500 to the early 1900’s. That’s 400 plus years of global domination.

How about a present day candidate? The US is the obvious global premier force. We have been for an extended period of time.

Ever hear of the Project for the New American Century? Its acronym is PNAC and it was initiated in 1997 as a “non-profit, educational organization whose goal is to promote American leadership.” What started out as a think tank has evolved into a veritable strangle hold on the current American political/military apparatus.

Well-known PNAC players are Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Jeb Bush, Gary Bauer, William Bennett, William Kristol, Scooter Libby (currently out of function), Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and Dan Quayle. Some call this gang “Neo-Cons”.

My personal opinion is that this group is borderline deranged. I’ll present my reasons for saying so briefly and then move on to the primary subject of this editorial. You should stop reading now if you’re not comfortable with this line of thought.

A few PNAC tenants from the late 1990’s:

• Advocation of global military domination
• Preserve “Pax Americana”
• Control of the “International Commons” of cyberspace
• Placement of permanent military bases in Southern Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
• Solve the Iraq and Saddam Hussein issue

How have their plans worked out? These guys have massive influence, if not absolute control in the Pentagon, Defense Department as well as the present White House. The US has over 730 military bases in 160 foreign countries. Our government spends more money on military endeavors than the rest of the world combined.

Most of the Americans I come in contact with have zero desire for a global empire. There are plenty of problems here at home that need addressing. Clearly, these knuckleheads at PNAC want nothing less than global domination.

The rest of this article will delve into what the necessary foundation of any empire must be. You may be firmly convinced that achieving empire is wise. So be it. You had better have a solid home base or you’re simply undertaking folly.

Empires require much more than just military prowess!

A sound currency is mandatory. I’ll spare the feint of heart another peek at a long-term US dollar chart. The buck has been flawed since Tricky Dick severed it from a global gold link in 1971.

A strong economy based on production is mandatory. The US produces primarily bureaucrats, bucks, bombs and boobs. Our manufacturing base has been farmed out by profiteering globalists. True manufacturing accounted for less than 12% of GDP in 2007. That includes the 3.5% of military spending.

Government and all its trappings are a tax on the true economy.

The US economy is based on consumption as it makes up 70% of our “economy”. Our trade imbalances will be paid in one form or another. We are at the mercy of foreigners to the tune of a trillion dollars per year. They must loan us that amount and or invest that much in US financial products. They are balking and the flow is drying up.

A true empire has a positive balance sheet. US debts are at unfathomable levels. We are stuck in a crooked system that depends upon escalating debts merely to stay afloat. It is called bankruptcy, life support or not.

The “richest” nation on earth has citizens with a negative savings rate. I do not remember when the government last had a true balanced budget. Two decades? You cannot borrow your way to wealth and you cannot borrow your way to empire!

The move would play further havoc with oil prices, and could send the price of oil spiraling to $200 and beyond.

Iran claims to have the world’s third largest reserves of oil at approximately 136 billion barrels as of 2007. The country ranks second if Canadian reserves of non-conventional oil are excluded.

This from The Jeruslam Post:

[A senior Israeli] official claimed that a senior member of the president’s entourage, which concluded a trip to Israel last week, said during a closed meeting that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were of the opinion that military action was called for.

However, the official continued, “the hesitancy of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice” was preventing the administration from deciding to launch such an attack on the Islamic Republic, for the time being.

The report stated that according to assessments in Israel, recent turmoil in Lebanon, where Hizbullah de facto established control of the country, was advancing an American attack.

Of course, there a reasons other than national security for Bush to launch an attack on Iran.

First, there’s the upcoming US presidential election. An attack on Iran would force the Democratic candidate to go toe to toe with war veteran John McCain while the US was at war on three fronts.

Secondly, it would neutralize Iran’s attempts to have oil priced in non-dollar denominated currencies.

Profit Watch editor Manraaj Singh points out that at a summit in Saudi Arabia last year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the falling dollar as a “worthless piece of paper.” Iran actually ditched the U.S. dollar for international oil transactions last December. They’re selling in euro and yen these days.

You only have to look at Iraq to see what happens when an uppity Middle-Eastern oil producer targets ditching the dollar for oil trades.

“Investing in oil isn’t the best way to play this boom, however,” says Manraaj.

“We expect the price of oil to keep rising. But as I have pointed out before, we don’t think the best profit opportunities from this trend come from investing directly in oil. There’s too much volatility in the price.

“The REAL money is going to be made by putting your money into the fast growing companies operating in the regions that are profiting from the petrodollar boom.”

Read on here to find out how to profit from the rising tide of petrodollars.