The United States is absolutely an Empire occupying territory, "...the U.S military has 200,000 active-service members deployed in at least 170 countries worldwide..." [1].

The United States extends tax to citizens and businesses living or operating outside its sovereign territory. United States citizens and businesses are large property and commerce owners in countries globally.

While the United States is not directly appointing governments and directly managing policy language, it does influence indirectly. This is one pillar of difference between how it operates and a traditional empire. My perspective is this is a difference without distinction.

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/03/28/all-th...