Instahoglets 13th Feb. 06

Here's what you weren't talking about around the water cooler today because you were talking about Cheney's hunting accident instead.

No change for Iraq. Ibrahim al-Jaafari has been confirmed as Iraq's prime minister again after a first term characterized by corruption and ethnic favoritism. He gained the position for a second time by only one vote after being backed by radical islamist cleric Moktada al-Sadr who controls the single biggest power bloc in the new parliament. Al-Sadr's militia and other such armed non-government groups are a primary reason that terrorism is down in Iraq this year too, according to the doyen of wargaming John Dunnigan. That's not totally good news because when they are done shooting at al Qaida their next logical targets are each other.

Despite assurances by Downing Street that there would be no British version of Abu Graib, video has been released of UK soldiers beating teenage Iraqis. There's a hell of a stir over this in the UK even if it hasn't hit the US mainstream.

The US general who was in charge of training Iraqi forces says it was a clusterfuck from the get-go, with no prewar planning and insufficient staffing and equipment. Sorta gives the lie to Bush's "we will stand down as they stand up" crapola - as well as the lie to the notion that stand up - stand down was the plan all along.

In a truly nightmarish case of deja vu, Bush is being urged by neocon warmongers to drop diplomacy with Iran in favour of boosting internal dissent and opposition forces within the Islamic regime. (To be followed of course by invasion, liberation, rose petals etc. etc.) In their rush to war, they are even willing to dump Condi Rice, who until recently seemed one of the blessed of the Republican party.

Meanwhile, the troops that the GOP supports (yeah, right) are to get a measly 2.2% increase in pay. The lowest increase since 1994 and well below the average for the last 10 years. Yes, I know the increase has to follow the 'Employment Cost Index' published by the Department of Labor by law. Isn't it about time that law was changed?

Dr. Gordon Prather, nuclear weapons expert, sets out the plain truth about the IAEA's report (NOT referal) on Iran to the UN Security Council. He also has some thoughts on the famous "smoking laptop" which is being used as a primary source by the rush to war crowd and concludes that it is just too obvious and convenient to be true.

The CIA’s top counter-terrorism official was fired last week because he opposed detaining Al-Qaeda suspects in secret prisons abroad, sending them to other countries for interrogation and using forms of torture such as “water boarding”, intelligence sources have claimed. Porter Goss has seen almost every single high-level director at the CIA quit since getting his job. It's the crony way or the highway, it seems.

Anything They Say blog has a detailled break down of the Bush regime's preparations for martial law. Anyone still want to take that bet on whether King George thinks the Constitution means enough that he has to step down when his term is over?

Today, Democrats released a new Government Accountability Office report finding that the Bush Administration spent more than $1.6 billion in public relations and media contracts in a two and a half year span. When rightwing bloggers are looking for pork to cut, why don't they start there?

Lastly, you do know that the Pentagon thinks every blogger is a potential threat, don't you? Now go back and re-read Anything You Say's post on the detainment camps KBR is building for King George. I will see you there, Michelle and Glenn!