My first impression was that it was about the US (terrorist/torture as a reference to the current wars, and strawberry fields to the war in Vietnam), then I realized that it was intentionally vague and applicable to every empire. It describes the flaws, motivations, and practices that are common in all empires. The second to last verse is a statement that after one empire falls another one will rise to fill the void.
My first impression was that it was about the US (terrorist/torture as a reference to the current wars, and strawberry fields to the war in Vietnam), then I realized that it was intentionally vague and applicable to every empire. It describes the flaws, motivations, and practices that are common in all empires. The second to last verse is a statement that after one empire falls another one will rise to fill the void.