At the end of WWII, America held the world in its grasp. We commanded the seas and the air, fielded the most effective armies under the best generals, and had a monopoly on the ultimate weapon. We could have bent the entire planet to our our will and demanded tribute from all.

But we did not.

We laid our arms down and returned home.

Has there ever been an empire in human history that could have resisted that temptation? – pdb

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