This song opens by mocking the disastrous attack on Iraq by the USA. The lines "Here we go again... get your moneys worth" I think refers to the way the American people have basically viewed both gulf wars as entertainment. The second verse continues a sarcastic commentary on the war. The third verse and chorus express anger at the administration for going ahead with the war despite our failed efforts to stop them.

For me the most interesting lyric of this song is the chorus- "Don't wanna be E-M-P-I-R-E!". It sums up the equivocal and duplicitous attitude of the U.S. to its own superpower status.
The USA was born out of an anti-imperialist struggle and has ever since used rhetoric condemning the empires of the old world. During the cold war it justified itself in opposition to the 'Evil Empire' But now, with the creation of the new world order and the war on terror it is plain to see the imperialistic actions of the U.S.A., for the first time in history. That's why they are "unrehearsed", later on there is the line "We just started out", which has much the same meaning.
Therefore I see this song as an exploration of how America is having so much trouble squaring its superpower status, its authoritarian and land-grabbing instincts, with its own propaganda about freedom and democracy. One of them has to give, and it won't be the imperialism.

I think this is just about America being an 'empire' which strikes first although it isn't really attacked. Even 10 million people demonstrating against Bush's plans are ignored.

For me, this is an obvious attack on the USA and the totally botched job they did on Iraq. "We strike first and we're unrehearsed" is the description of the USA and UK rushing headlong into an unprepared military advance on Iraq, with no real organization behind them. "Here we go again to stage the greatest show on heaven and on earth", for me, this is Bush taking it on himself to show the rest of the world how it 'should be done' and the ever so publicized preparations for war. The word 'show' signifies to me that all the campaigning that Bush under went was a huge charade and the bullshit that he was feeding his gullible citizens ("Sadam Hussein has WMD's... for sure!! I promise!!).

I think that it's just saying how Bush is turning America into a super power of the world, but not using it for good. So in turn we turn into an evil empire.

I'd like to add, for those who don' t know, that the expression "two minutes hate" is originally used in George Orwell's "1984". The book describes a world where a powerful leading party reigns and controls people by using mass media and overwhelming propaganda.

In my eyes this song is simple: it's about the war in Iraq and the way the Bush administration went about it. They went in with reckless abandon and their main purpose was to "Strike First" and used fear to motivate the American people. The line "To stage the greatest show on heaven and earth" reminded me of the famous "shock and awe" bullshit Bush was talking about and how we have the greatest army in the world.