From Media Matters:

Here's how Tom Engelhardt begins his latest piece, "Going on an Imperial Bender": "Here it is, as simply as I can put it: In the course of any year, there must be relatively few countries on this planet on which U.S. soldiers do not set foot, whether with guns blazing, humanitarian aid in hand, or just for a friendly visit. In startling numbers of countries, our soldiers not only arrive, but stay interminably, if not indefinitely. Sometimes they live on military bases built to the tune of billions of dollars that amount to sizeable American towns (with accompanying amenities), sometimes on stripped down forward operating bases that may not even have showers...

MM summarizes:

The rest of Engelhardt's piece explores how we have garrisoned the planet, why it's not news in the United States, and what the costs of ignorance are to this country, literal and figurative.

Could be good to assign in 2nd semester