[annalex]

Pollyanna like view of the "American empire,"

Not at all; he is merely saying that an empire is an adequate response in the situation on hand.

[Captain Kirk]

Certainly...not because it will make us "freer than ever before." The story of the twentieth century (growth of regulations, government, restrictions on civil liberties, etc.) indicates just the opposite. If people want to embrace "empire" fine and daddy but they should at least be up front about describing the trade-offs.