Good (news) Friday: Wither Wolfowitz: The belated comeuppance for another Bush man

Paul Wolfowitz is the neo-conservative visionary who – as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense – was the principal architect of the “domino” plan to democratize the Middle East that misled American soldiers into the current mess in Iraq. Clearly, for this monumental blunder, he should have been thrown into the dustbin of history, if not in jail. Instead, President George W. Bush rewarded Wolfowitz by appointing him president of the World Bank. And, showing an even more egregious lack of judgment, the bank’s Board of Executive Directors unanimously approved his appointment in March 2005.

(Purely as a matter of principle, I expected at least one or two symbolic “No” votes on Wolfowitz’s appointment. This notwithstanding informal agreement (in 1944) amongst the founders of the World Bank and its sister bank, the IMF, which granted the U.S. almost exclusive authority to appoint the bank’s president, and the EU similar authority to appoint the managing director of the IMF.)

Alas, even before he began what he calls his life’s most “important work”, Wolfowitz devised another ingenious plan that misled the bank into what is now the most serious leadership crisis in its distinguished history. But, thank God, the consequences of his blunder in this case will not be wanton death and destruction. Rather, it will (or should) be Wolfowitz’s sacking in such ignominious fashion that it more than compensates for Bush’s misguided appointment in the first place.

Moreover, even though he still justifies the troubles he created in Iraq by citing the lofty, if elusive, pursuits of democracy and WMDs, Wolfowitz cannot even rationalize the scandal he has now created at the bank, which is defined by the base and all too accessible pursuits of money and sex. After all, he’s finally being hoisted by his own petard because he used his power and influence to negotiate an employee contract for his girlfriend, Libyan-born Shaha Riza, which members of the bank’s staff association say guaranteed her promotions and pay rises that are “grossly out of line” with bank rules.

Of course, it is ironic that this messy bank affair stems from these lovebirds’ attempt to avoid a conflict of interest. Because, to allay concerns of the bank’s Ethics Committee, when Wolfowitz was appointed, Riza was seconded from the bank – where she made stellar advances during her eight years in the bank’s Middle East and North African Social and Economic Development Group, to the U.S. State Department – where Wolfowitz retained so much influence (he once served as under Secretary of State, after all) that he had no difficulty negotiating the terms of her employment there that now reek of insidious conflicts, if not outright corporate corruption.

(NOTE: Reports are that Riza’s salary at the bank was $132,660. But Wolfowitz got her a salary of $193,590 at State. And, to give you a sense of how imperial his thinking is, or perhaps of how much he wanted to please his girlfriend, Wolfowitz had no scruples about the fact that this gave Riza a bigger salary than Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s at $183,500….

Meanwhile, as if this were not scandalous enough, Wolfowitz also installed two of his minions (who rode his coattails over from Defense) in executive positions at the bank and gave each of them a salary of $250,000, which equals that of top officials who typically have 25 years of experience….)

We stand up for staff being treated equitably. There shouldn’t be favoritism.

[Alison Cave, head of the World Bank staff association]

It is understandable therefore that the peers Riza left at the bank would resent the lucrative benefits her boyfriend / their boss arranged for her. But their feelings were incited by more than just money and sex. After all, lingering political resentment made Wolfowitz’s appointment controversial from the outset. Because it was an open secret that many bank staffers felt that – after the mess he created as the architect of the Iraq war – Wolfowitz should not have even been considered for the job as bank president. And, he did not endear himself when he made it perfectly clear that he intended to conduct bank affairs the way Bush conducts foreign affairs: get with my plan, or get out of my way; because, you’re either with me or against me.

Indeed, many politicians, especially in Europe, who opposed Bush’s invasion of Iraq (and even some who were covering their asses for having joined his coalition of the willing), also opposed his appointment of Wolfowitz, and are now leading the calls for his resignation.

I don’t want to hide the fact that I have doubts about his functioning….There is also a lack of trust in the moment in the leadership and in the management, so that is something that has to be resolved.
[Bert Koenders, Dutch development minister]

In fact, the bank’s development and finance ministers issued a communiqué which left no doubt that they think this Wolfowitz-Riza mess constitutes a “substantial crisis for the institution which risks undermining the bank’s credibility and reputation as well as the motivation of its staff”.

Nevertheless, the most serious challenge to Wolfowitz’s tenure came only yesterday when Graeme Wheeler – one of his two deputies and, reportedly, an old friend – stood before all of the bank’s senior officials during an extraordinary session and called on him to resign.

But just as Bush ignored criticisms of Wolfowitz’s appointment, he seems determined to ignore calls for his resignation. Indeed, Bush’s press secretary, Dana Perino, has declared repeatedly that Bush retains “full confidence” in Wolfowitz. And, ironically, in this Bush has the support of many leaders from developing countries who – like Antoinette Sayeh, finance minister of Liberia and himself a former bank official – continue to praise Wolfowitz for his “visionary leadership”. This is understandable, of course, because notwithstanding the irony, if not hypocrisy, Wolfowitz has made fighting corruption (and alleviating poverty) throughout the developing world the core mission of his presidency.

In fact, here’s how he vowed on Sunday to stand and fight for this cause:

I intend to stay… I believe in the mission of this organization and I believe that I can carry it out… particular in Africa…. I have had many expressions of support.

That said, I am acutely mindful of the Rumsfeld precedent, which stands for the proposition that – despite declaring his support – Bush will eventually cave to political pressure and “accept” Wolfowitz’s resignation. But bipartisan opposition to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had reached such a critical mass that Bush risked becoming the most notorious lame-duck president in U.S. history if he did not throw Rummy overboard.

By contrast, I don’t know of a single prominent U.S. politician who is calling for Bush to ditch Wolfowitz. In fact, there seems to be such frenzied (and bipartisan) interest in scalping his attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, that few people in Washington seem even aware of the mess Wolfowitz has created at the bank.

Meanwhile, I’m obliged to disabuse people of the reasoning that Bush will be forced to withdraw his support because almost two thirds of the bank’s directors and staffers now oppose Wolfowitz’s leadership. After all, Bush has blithely led for two thirds of his presidency with almost two thirds of the American people opposed to his presidency.

Never mind that defying the cloistered bankers and European politicians who are calling for Wolfowitz’s head might actually redound to Bush’s political benefit….

Related Article:
Rumsfeld forced to resign
Alberto Gonzales should resign

NOTE: The editor of CNN has been inundated with so many letters criticizing my articles on global warming that he dedicated an entire series to them and has now prevailed upon me to address a few of them. Click here to see how I obliged, dutifully.