Yes, you thought I was talking about Saddam Hussein. I'm talking about Iyad Allawi, the new Prime Minister of Iraq.

Iyad Allawi, the new Prime Minister of Iraq, pulled a pistol and executed as many as six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station, just days before Washington handed control of the country to his interim government, according to two people who allege they witnessed the killings.

They say the prisoners - handcuffed and blindfolded - were lined up against a wall in a courtyard adjacent to the maximum-security cell block in which they were held at the Al-Amariyah security centre, in the city's south-western suburbs.

...

One of the witnesses claimed that before killing the prisoners Dr Allawi had told those around him that he wanted to send a clear message to the police on how to deal with insurgents.

Of course, we have to rely on a newspaper in Australia to tell us these things. As John Stewart said on Larry King, the U.S. media and the government are a single organism.

[Via Eschaton and Blogging of the President]

Senator Rick Santorum on the anti-gay marriage amendment:

"I would argue that the future of our country hangs in the balance because the future of marriage hangs in the balance," he said shortly before the vote. "Isn't that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?"

As a New Yorker, I'm pretty sure that gay marriage is NOT the biggest danger we face.

[photo courtesy of Jesse Chan-Norris]

Apparently it has become illegal to wear an anti-Bush t-shirt in a public place if he is nearby.

Story via Atrios:

"Our immediate task in battle fronts like Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites) and elsewhere is to capture or kill the terrorists ... so we do not have to face them here at home," Bush told a cheering crowd outside the West Virginia Capitol. An enthusiastic audience estimated by state capitol police at 6,500 people waving American flags chanted, "Four more years."

Regarding Saddam, the deposed Iraqi president, Bush said: "Because we acted, the dictator, the brutal tyrant, is sitting in a prison cell."

Two Bush opponents, taken out of the crowd in restraints by police, said they were told they couldn't be there because they were wearing shirts that said they opposed the president.

Restraints? They handcuffed them?

If you only read one in-depth article on Baghdad and Iraq, this is the one.

Christian Parenti, who has been covering Iraq for The Nation, gives us The Rough Guide to Baghdad.