A little while back, I read the book The Voyage of the Armada by David Howerth, and I saw some things that chilled me...just a little bit. I'll just throw the story out for you and see if it strikes any chords.
Once upon a time, there was a mighty and arrogant man, who was ruler of one of the world's superpowers. He felt that he had been put on earth as a tool of God's will, and his religious beliefs were evident in almost everything he did. Many historians look back on him as something of a clueless screw-up whose huge bureaucracy made it hard for anything to get done. At the time, however, few dared to oppose this powerful man.
This mighty ruler decided to undertake the most expensive military expedition in history. Many people didn't like the idea, but he was assured that the oppressed people of the country he was invading would welcome him with open arms, overthrowing their oppressors. Then, the treasure of that land would be his country's and that would more than pay for the huge outlay.
Of course, it didn't go so well. The military campaign ran into a huge quagmire, and ultimately wound up costing his country a staggering amount of capital. While not monetarily bankrupted, the empire lost face, and a tremendous amount of treasure. Now, the once-unchallenged land found its enemies emboldened. They never regained the glory they once had.
This, combined with really bad investments from the private sector, was what eventually made the empire crumble. They lost their place as one of the top powers in the Western world, and it took them several hundred years to come back.