] There's been a big discussion - especially since Iraq
] about whether America is an empire or not.
] Certainly we're involved in a lot of countries, and we
] have a kind of imperial reach, and people see us that
] way. But Americans are really not comfortable with this.
] They don't like the idea of ruling other people, and
] they're not in it for the long haul. They have no desire,
] like the British did in India, to rule in perpetuity. One
] of the big problems is that we are subject, as a
] democracy, to momentary enthusiasms for undertaking
] projects of various sorts. But a lot of times we don't
] have the staying power to see them through to the end.

Johns Hopkins Magazine - Fukuyama interview