Right, Pat.
If we hadn't been in the Philippines in 1898, none of the rest would have happened.
Sure.
When America decided it had to be a great power of the European model and have overseas possessions we set ourselves up for conflict where none existed before. Deciding we needed bases to project force into the Pacific we annexed Hawaii, picked a fight with Spain on the pretext of human rights violations in Cuba and used that to grab the Philippines, the Marianas, etc. Already with a presence in China we became "players" and felt compelled to instruct foreign powers how to behave on foreign lands. I am not condoning Japanese expansion but if it weren't for our overseas holdings we would not have been on a collision course with the rising sun. Those who warned against Imperialism back in 1898 knew what they were talking about - it costs a lot of blood and treasure to maintain.