Bush's Poodles

Today Bush is meeting the Iraq Study Group to work out a new strategery for Iraq. Tony Blair will be told about it after the decisions have been made:

Mr Bush will meet the panel today and Tony Blair is expected to offer his views via a video-conference call tomorrow.

Australia is not even getting that much of a look-in:

The Minister for Defence, Brendan Nelson, said yesterday that Australia would not be making submissions to the Iraq Survey Group.

"The notion of Australia making a submission to that is really superfluous," he told Ten's Meet the Press. "What you've got is essentially a group of people, a think tank." Dr Nelson said instead Australia would go direct to the governments of the US, Britain and Iraq.

We go to them, or they come to us? Either way, there is no talk of influencing policy. Disgraceful.