BERMUDIANS have never really considered the possibility that an American presidential election could impact on their lives. They have never even thought it remotely likely that Bermuda could become a major issue in a presidential campaign.

But it is abundantly clear from reports in last week's that Democratic Presidential hopeful Senator John Kerry will be talking about putting Bermuda out of business during his primary campaigns.

If Sen. Kerry retains his current front-runner status and is, in fact, nominated by his party to challenge incumbent George W. Bush in November, the Bermuda Tax Triangle will become a national issue in the run-up to the election ? one the Republicans will be unable to avoid.

Bermuda will then find itself caught in the rhetorical cross-fire exchanged by the two Presidential candidates and the damage to our reputation could be significant.

Bermuda has always been loath to believe that the United States could take action that might be harmful to the interests of the island. Bermudians have enjoyed such a long and happy relationship with America that until Sen. Kerry branded the island as the key member in an Off-Shore Axis of Evil, it's unlikely that locals would ever have contemplated joining in an ongoing international debate. Namely, are the unilateral foreign policy decisions that America is now increasingly taking laying the groundwork for a global US empire?

Since the horrific events of 9/11 and America's subsequent declaration of War on Terrorism and the military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, this question has come more and more to the fore. To the average American the idea that the world might be looking at their country as an emerging imperial power would probably be looked on as a sick joke. Most Americans are insular by nature. Visit the US and it's very hard to avoid the impression that if there's a country in the world that is totally absorbed in itself, then it is Amercia.

But nevertheless is America creating its own empire ? obviously not in the traditional imperialist manner but a empire nevertheless?

All this week the BBC has been examining this question. Will Bermuda, facing the prospect of a potential President Kerry, soon find itself having to ask the same question?

If Americans were to take this charge seriously, then their first reaction would probably be one of outrage and indignation. Then they would point to the fact they freed themselves from the British Empire in order to pursue their own destiny and are historically sympathetic to other countries that attempt to chart the same course.

Doubtless, also, American history demonstrates that the fledgling United States of America which emerged at the end of the 18th century was more interested in consolidating itself on the North American continent than getting caught up in the European Great Power struggles that then dominated international affairs.

Indeed, to ensure the US was not dragged into Old World squabbles, in 1823 President James Monroe enunciated what has subsequently been known as the Monroe Doctrine ? a warning to Europe that it should stay out of the affairs of the Western Hemisphere.

Having seen off the British, brought out the French North American possessions in the Lousiana Treaty purchase, by the end of the 19th century the US turned on the Spanish, the other great European colonialist in this part of the world. The focus of that conflict would be Cuba, where Cuban insurgents were fighting the Spanish for national Independence.

The Americans would intervene but not so much to aid the Cuban rebels as to drive the Spanish out of the Caribbean. At the end of what became known as the Spanish-American War, Cuba was nominally Independent but dominated by American military and commercial interests.

The former Spanish territory of Puerto Rico was ceded to the US by Madrid. And control over a Pacific Spanish colony, the Philippines, was sold to the Americans for $20 million (it would gain its Independence from America in 1946).

As America pursued its "manifest destiny" of continental growth, it accrued vast tracts of land wherever it could. Washington bought Alaska from the Russian Empire in the 19th century and in an uncharacteristically straightforward imperialist land-grab, it seized the Hawaiian Islands from the British.

America never considered itself to be an imperial power in the traditional sense. This stance was not as selfless as it may sound. In fact, there were widespread concerns in race-conscious 19th- century America that the country did not want to incorporate territories that included large non-white populations given the periodic warfare US troops engaged in with Native Americans and the unhappy racial legacy of slavery.

America really came of age as a global superpower after World War Two. Along with the former Soviet Union, the US became one of the two countries capable of shaping world events. It would come as a considerable disappointment to Europe's old colonial power ? and to Britain in particular ? that the New World Order which emerged in the aftermath of World War Two had no room for colonial empires, a fact underscored when the Americans forced Britain, France and their Israeli ally to withdraw from the Suez Canal after they attempted to take it over following Egyptian leader Gamal Nasser's nationalised the critical waterway.

America still was not acting like a traditional imperial power but its influence in the world grew and now with the demise of the former Soviet Union, it is the sole remaining superpower.

This week's BBC programmes examined the role of America in the world and if it is indeed an imperial power. The consensus of opinions expressed decided that America is an imperial power ? but one that is in denial.

Certainly it can be argued that the United States wields a degree of power in world affairs the likes of which has not been seen since the Roman Empire was at its zenith. But an American opinion on the same BBC programme stated that even though the US has this unparalleled concentration of power, it cannot get its way without the help of other nations.

Interestingly, it should be remembered that the Romans were only able to endure for as long as they did by entering into strategic alliances with certain barbarian tribes ? even longstanding former enemies ? in order to divide potential adversaries and maintain their rule as a result.

The British followed this approach in the 19th century, leading to a longstanding period of peace known as. These are lessons from history the current US administration needs to bear in mind. What, after all, has really changed in the affairs of man?

America is a very different sort of imperial power. Even though it wields overwhelming military power it really dominates the world through the dynamism of its society, its economic power, scientific prowess and the excitement its culture generates.

Whether Washington decides to work with other countries and create a or lead the world through a unilateral approach that does not take into consideration the international community's views remains to be seen.