US posture in the Middle East turned openly imperial after the 2001 attacks

Evidence

One can debate whether this history since 1967 constitutes an “imperial” or “hegemonic” posture of the United States concerning the Middle East. (I believe it to be imperialism, American style.) But since the terrorist attacks of 2001, things have taken a decidedly imperial turn, culminating now in the direct military occupation of a major Arab country, an adventure labeled a “colonial war in the postcolonial age,” by former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. And the political theorists of empire have repeatedly cautioned that the consequences of imperialism can reach far beyond the colony. — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 990

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The Bush administration planned rolling regime change across the Middle East — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 489