1997 America was probably at the height of its power. A bunch of freak shows calling themselves “neocons” just fucking make an entire ideology about conquering earth like a fucking Risk board game. Every single choice made since then has just made America more alienated and hated by other nations and even allies. It also allowed hilariously large windows of opportunity to what these men consider our adversaries.Russia, Iran, China are all significantly stronger then they were in 1997.
I get they all got wealthy as fuck, but America went from “end of history” to just another empire in less than a decade.
My belief is If you signed a PNAC document you should be stoned strike at your family home.
The Incas and Aztecs fucked things up pretty hard. Swinging from continent-spanning civilizations to civil war to population collapse inside a few decades completely changed the face of domestic politics in the region, opening it up to pillage and enslavement by European colonists.