As the Soviet Union neared its end, the government was pouring money into its military, waging a difficult war in Afghanistan, and sinking further into debt. Does that sound anything like the United States today? In this video, TomDispatch.com’s Tom Engelhardt, a Nation Institute Fellow, expands on themes from his new book, The United States of Fear, to draw parallels between the fall of the Soviet Union and the present-day United States. Click here to read Engelhardt’s latest essay from TomDispatch.com.

—Erin Schikowski