Absolutely. The U.S. currently has some level of military presence in more than 120 foreign countries, and a total of about 500,000 military and civilian personnel stationed overseas.
If that ain't an "empire," then I don't know what is.
They are there by the invitation of the host countries, not to subjugate them and ensure their allegiance to the US. But as the article by Dr. Petrov points out, all empires extract a tax or tribute from the subjugated. Where is the tax or tribute? The fact that oil is priced in dollars does not make it a "tax" as the article claims.
Just my opinion, but classically speaking such military deployments are in support of colonialization and control of the respective native governments in a true empire. Empires also tend to have emperors and imperial command structures. This isn't just hair-splitting, it is a fundamental difference. IMHO, of course.