<P> Following the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the idea of American imperialism was reexamined . In November 2001, jubilant marines hoisted an American flag over Kandahar and in a stage display referred to the moment as the third after those on San Juan Hill and Iwo Jima . All moments, writes Neil Smith, express US global ambition . "Labelled a war on terrorism, the new war represents an unprecedented quickening of the American Empire, a third chance at global power ." </P> <P> On October 15, the cover of William Kristol's Weekly Standard carried the headline, "The Case for American Empire ." Rich Lowry, editor in chief of the National Review, called for "a kind of low - grade colonialism" to topple dangerous regimes beyond Afghanistan . The columnist Charles Krauthammer declared that, given complete U.S. domination "culturally, economically, technologically and militarily," people were "now coming out of the closet on the word' empire ."' The New York Times Sunday magazine cover for January 5, 2003, read "American Empire: Get Used To It ." The phrase "American empire" appeared more than 1000 times in news stories during November 2002--April 2003 . Two Harvard Historians and their French colleague observed: </P> <P> Since September 11, 2001...if not earlier, the idea of American empire is back...Now...for the first time since the early Twentieth century, it has become acceptable to ask whether the United States has become or is becoming an empire in some classic sense ." </P> <P> It used to be that only the critics of American foreign policy referred to the American empire...In the past three or four years (2001 - 2004), however, a growing number of commentators have begun to use the term American empire less pejoratively, if still ambivalently, and in some cases with genuine enthusiasm . </P>

What led to the rise of american imperialism in the 1890s