In a bizarre case of Orwellian doublespeak, the CIA director today announced that he was going to investigate… the man in charge of investigating the CIA director. Inspector General John L. Helgerson and his office are responsible for oversight and internal investigation of the intelligence agency. Over the last few years a series of intelligence blunders has led the office to take a higher profile than usual, including work on extraordinary rendition, unauthorised wiretapping, torture methods at Abu Graib and Guantanamo Bay as well as the calamity of the Plame Affair and criticism of the agency in the lead up to 9/11.

This story is so bizarre it leads my head in circles, making me feel like I’m in a Phillip K. Dick novel. So the director is investigating the inspector general who is investigating the director… Now we just need the news tomorrow that the inspector is mounting a counter investigation into the investigation of his investigating and besides, what is Ubik?