peace dividend? we don't need no stinkin' peace dividend.

Anybody who thinks, delusionally, that the "withdrawal" from Iraq somehow constitutes an opportunity to reduce the US interventionist footprint in the Persian Gulf area, should read the NYT and think again:

The Obama administration plans to bolster the American military presence in the Persian Gulf after it withdraws the remaining troops from Iraq this year, according to officials and diplomats. That repositioning could include new combat forces inKuwait able to respond to a collapse of security in Iraq or a military confrontation with Iran.

Unfortunately, the longer you study America's imperial activities around the world, the more prophetic Chalmers Johnson starts to become.