After Peak Oil, is Peak Empire next?

After WW II, the American juggernaut was the envy of the world. Its economy was the undisputed leader, its political institutions were admired--by most, if not all--for its stability & fairness, AND the U.S. Dollar was the standard medium of exchange. The list of positives was long & seemed to outshine the negatives by a wide margin.

Now fast forward to the Empire after the pivotal events following Sept. 11, 2001. Seizing the opportunity of the century, the NeoCon masters(and current caretakers for the 'pre-emptive' Empire) have taken the Empire toward a self-inflicted 'Abyss of Evil.' Illegal invasions, sadistic tortures, warrantless spying of its own citizens, running Trillion-dollar deficits in military spending, giving Billions of tax cuts to the richest 1%(the horrendous list of evils seems infinite and accelerating). But in Iraq, the Evil Empire has finally seen its own demise up front & personal, as some 10,000 part-time 'coalition of the willing' mujahedeens have now brilliantly fought off the Mightiest Killing Machine" of the USA(over 200,000 in-theatre troops & excluding some 20,000+ private security mercenaries, and using massive tonnage of WMDs on the Iraqi population) to a virtual standoff...

Does any objective observer NOT see the coming of Peak EMPIRE?