Anyone know how the military can have a court martial trial on the Iraq prisoner abuses this quick? Perhaps we could import some of that efficiency into the criminal law world.

Probably because the investigation has been ongoing since January.

The military rules for court martial also provide that someone accused of an offense will be brought to trial within 120 days of the charges being 'preferred' (i.e. the defendant is formally notified of the charges) or 120 days of the defendant being put into pre-trial confinement. If the accused is not brought to trial within the required period (exluding defense delays) the charges will be dismissed (possibly with prejudice, depending on the reasons for the delay). My experience has been that military judges treat this 120 day requirement pretty strictly.