al Maliki is out, Allawi is in ?? Propaganda

Have you, like me, been noticing that Iraqi Prime Minister al Maliki is getting criticized while former Prime Minister Allawi is being described as a potential replacement? Like Allawi could solve all our problems? Think this is just Bush realizing that Maliki can't make it work and Allawi can? Or trying to make a change before the September Surge^TM Report? Think again. Allawi hired a top-notch lobbying firm to denounce Maliki and promote himself. Within days he's on the Op-Ed of the NY Times, interviewed by ABC News, and has the Bush State Department saying that "plan B is now likely being considered."

Glenn Greenwald has the best article on the propaganda machine. You can almost watch it happening in real-time.

What's worrisome is that this is how everything works now, not just Iraq foreign policy. Virtually any story you hear now is generated by a lobby group. For example, the news about Chinese toys being recalled is being led by the American toy manufacturing lobby, and not simply a desire to keep kids safe. But that same lobby group is also making sure that Congress doesn't pass any new regulations to protect kids. They've been successful: American manufactured toy sales are up 40% since the recall.