The Empire is struck back. Chalmers Johnson has a profile up at AlterNet promoting his new book, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy and the End of the Republic. Johnson's position, which was considered alarmist pre-September 11 but is now becoming common thinking among the left, is that the "vast network of American military bases on every continent except Antarctica actually constitutes a new form of empire", and that the consequences of this empire will be continued violence directed against the United States and its allies. G. John Ikenberry reviews it at Foreign Affairs and concludes that "Johnson offers no coherent theory of why the United States seeks empire." Ulitmately, Ikenberry finds "Johnson's simplistic view of military hegemony misleading." Nonetheless, Johnson is raising questions about the international posture of the American military that need to be considered.