Empire Without Conscience: How America Became the World’s Executioner

Nancy O'Brien Simpson The United States does not declare wars anymore. It simply slides into them. One day the skies over Baghdad glow orange. Another day, drones hum over Yemen. Another day, Ukraine’s front lines are lit by American rockets. The bombs fall without fanfare, without formal speeches of war, without the burden of responsibility. And the people at home—lulled by cheap goods, endless distractions, and the illusion of safety—barely notice. This is how empires behave when war is no longer an exception but the bloodstream itself. America has become a nation addicted to conflict, a state that cannot breathe without the fumes of militarism. From Vietnam to Afghanistan, from Iraq to Libya, from Syria to Ukraine, the pattern repeats: Washington marches in under the banner of freedom, only to leave a wake of rubble, grief, and disillusion.