Similarities through history.

[The Errant]

I believe that Athens makes a better comparison to America. It also conquered territories and in some cases forced democracy on the recently conquered inhabitants.

Compare to Persia, who on the whole couldn't care less as long as you sent money to Persis.

Foot

Personally I don't think the average american citizen gives a rat's ass if anyone in the world outside the U.S is living freedom and democracy. While the war in Afganistan can be somehow justified in getting rid off an openly terrorists supporting nation, their war in Iraq has nothing to do with freedom and everything to do with oil. Oil they now control. If that isn't fighting a war for commercial interests and resources, what is?

Of all current nations in existence the U.S reminds me mostly of the money grabbing commercial empire. Just take a look at all the different customs and tariffs they have erected to "safeguard" the domestic industry. All the while they keep complaining that certain nations like China aren't opening their markets to "free trade" by having "illegal" customs against foreign companies.
Their hypocracy stinks all the way to my country. And a live one big ocean and a smaller sea removed from them.

Persia is an example in expedience and practicality. You got an empire that spans roughly the know civilized world. In all that territory you got hundreds if not thousands of different peoples, cultures, languages, customs and religions. How do you manage something that big?
The Persians were happy in letting it run itself trough a large number of vassal rulers who had relatively free hands in running their respective territories. All the King of Kings asks, is that you contribute to the general welfare by paying tribute. A lot of which goes to pay the army that kept them in power.

Both the Diadochi and the Romans had another method. The Diadochi tried making the world greek by setting up colonies troughout their lands inhabited by greeks. Hoping that the culture that was at the top would gradually seep trough to the people beneath. Didn't work as well as they hoped. Even so it left a Greek legacy all over the Middle East.

The Romans were more thourough in making the whole Empire Roman. Taxation, administration, legal systems, agriculture, religion, infrastructure. Everything was exported from Rome to every corner of the Roman world. When the people who have previously been thinking of themselves as Greek, Phoenician, Egyptian, Celt or Numidian start thinking of themselves as Roman, you've won.

I know Athens was expansionistic. But unlike Cartage I don't think the sole reason for their expansion was money and profit.

[Foot]

Personally I don't think the average american citizen gives a rat's ass if anyone in the world outside the U.S is living freedom and democracy. While the war in Afganistan can be somehow justified in getting rid off an openly terrorists supporting nation, their war in Iraq has nothing to do with freedom and everything to do with oil. Oil they now control. If that isn't fighting a war for commercial interests and resources, what is?

Meh, and unimportant point. What people care about, and what they want to care about are two different things. Or more generally, the way people are and they way they want to be are invariably different. The former is indicates the psychology, sociology (and to a lesser extent, biology, physics and chemistry) of a people, the latter indicates the philosophy and politics of a people (amongst others). Both tell their story, and in the idealism of America, she believes that forcefully bringing democracy to the world is a good thing - it wasn't called Operation Iraqi Freedom for nothing! Of course it was also a cover for commercial interests, but that they chose freedom and democracy as their cover says a lot.

Foot

[The Errant]

Other similarities with history could be the general region of the Middle East.
Syria and Judea in particular are conflict magnets.

It was a mess during the war between Egypt and the Hittites.

It was a mess during the war between Egypt and Babylon.

It was a mess during the time of the Diadochi.

It was a mess during the wars between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sassanid Persians.

It was a mess during the Crusades.

It was a mess during the breakup of Saladin's Empire.

It was a mess during the Mongol invasion.

It was a mess during WWI.

It was a mess after WWII.

And It's still a mess today. The crossroads of the world seem to draw trouble like s*** draws flies.