For Wolfowitz, the end is near
Here’s the latest from WaPo:
The World Bank’s executive board is negotiating the resignation of embattled President Paul D. Wolfowitz, senior bank officials said this afternoon.
The sources said that under the terms being discussed, Wolfowitz would step down, ending the ethics controversy that has consumed the bank for weeks, while the board would credit him for some achievements as president of the global poverty-fighting institution, including a sharpened focus on aiding Africa and stemming corruption.
The Bush Administration is apparently “helping broker the terms” and is “eager to see the matter resolved swiftly,” but — and this shows its wagon-circling priorities — it had been working on “finding Wolfowitz a face-saving way out,” whereby “the bank’s board [would have reprimanded] but not [fired] Wolfowitz for engineering and covering up a substantial raise for his girlfriend, with the bank expressly sharing some of the blame for the ethics controversy”.
In typical fashion, then, the Bush Administration was trying to avoid responsibility and deflect accountability while protecting one of its own. But the bank, much to its credit, “rejected that formulation in discussions last night and today”. And consider this: “The Bush administration appeared to be virtually alone in supporting Wolfowitz. Nearly all board members have endorsed the findings of the committee’s report, officials said, with even Canada — traditionally a reliable U.S. ally — breaking with the Bush administration.”
(Bush. Alone. Again. What else is new?)
Which means that the end is near for Wolfowitz at The World Bank. If he doesn’t resign — and the window seems to be open — he will likely be subjected to a vote of no confidence or fired. And so his resignation is inevitable. It’s just a matter of when.
(CNN has more here.)
5 Responses to “For Wolfowitz, the end is near”
Oh lets drag it out some more- maybe it will help Wolfie get a better settlement so he can share it with his girlfriend!
Platinum parachute…
The most entertaining thing possible will be if Bush brings Wolfowitz back into the federal government, rather than settles for introduding into the World Bank’s decision-making.
Wolfowitz missed his opportunity- yesterday he could have quit the Bank in a big huff and taken the job of War Czar. Now there’s a job he has the right experience for!
I actually read somewhere, that he has a big bonus due to him in June, so he’s probably stalling in the hopes he’ll still get it anyway. Having Bob Bennett work out the details never hurts! I think the Euros can’t believe American greed, chutzpah and arrogance over this.
> War Czar
I withheld comment earlier about that because the position had been filled already. Too bad, eh?
If you want to read more about Wolfowitz’s position as well as about the World Bank, this article is good. If you have not read the Wall Street Journal before, it is higher quality than the other major mainstream publications, and if you read them (New York Times, say), the first thing you are likely to do when you encounter the Journal for the first time is to slow down.
(In fact, Wolfowitz already is “under a cloud,” and note that “tight circle”…)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117940381472106145.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
I am not a subscriber, so couldn’t read the article. I did read that there’s a rumor in DC circles that Bush will make Gonzales next WB president and use a recess appt to replace Gonzo. But Gonzales has even less experience in development projects and global poverty issues than Wolfowitz, so it sounds crazy to me.
I think Bush would do better if he picked his battles. The US is the only country still supporting Wolfowitz at the WB, so it would seem smarter to get ahead of the curve and avoid another embarassing diplomatic defeat highlighting our weaknesses. Wolfowitz has been around since the 70′s. Considering his problems turning academic ideology into reality, it may be that he’s outlasted his usefulness. Certainly its hard to picture any of the ’08 candidates finding a cushy slot for him and Reza.