To Invade Iran, First Replace El Baradei With A compliant Stooge...

Connect the dots:

1. Arch neo-con Douglas Feith says it is impossible to rule out an invasion of Iran, which has always been the next target on the neo-cons' list.

2. The US government has been tapping the phone of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei, although the phone taps revealed no evidence of wrong-doing.

3. The Bush Administration wants to replace ElBaradei with Australia's totally incompetent Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, even though Downer is so far reluctant to challenge ElBaradei's position:

"Our original strategy was to get Alex Downer to throw his hat in the ring, but we couldn't," a US policy maker told the Post.

"Anyone in politics will tell you that you can't beat somebody with nobody, but we're going to try to disprove that."

Well, if you are looking for a big fat nobody, Alexander Downer is your man, boys. He's also a compliant stooge, a bumbling nincompoop and a walking disaster whose incompetence and general lack of savoir faire would fit in perfectly down on the ranch in Crawford.

This is the man who single-handedly provoked diplomatic uproars with the Philipine and Spanish governments, calling them "marshmallows" for withdrawing from Iraq, and who was still insisting on Feb 18th this year that "Far from unstuck, the WMD case is proven."