John Howard and his great and powerful friend

Come 20 January next year George Dubbya ceases to be US President and John Howard quite literally loses his 'great and powerful' friend.

Tectonic plates are already shifting across the political arena and last week the US Senate released a summary of the Senate Armed Services Committee Inquiry Into The Treatment of Detainees In US Custody, which pointed a finger squarely at the Bush Administration and Donald Rumsfeld for encouraging and approving mistreatment and abuse of Guantanamo Bay prisoners and others through the redefinition of torture, suspension of the Geneva Convention and specific interrogation instructions.

How long before John Howard's role in refusing to support international law and failing to support Australian citizens caught as 'enemy combatants' comes to light in yet more detail?

With most of his allies gone from office or otherwise neutered, will the truth about Howard's time as an Australian prime minister finally come to light?

Can the world dig faster than Little Johnnie can backfill?

Summary of Senate Armed Services Committee Inquiry Into The Treatment of Detainees In US Custody here.