Posted on 04/16/2007 7:16:19 AM PDT by Kitten Festival
Ethics: World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz's use of taxpayer cash to pad his girlfriend's salary was improper, even if those who exposed it had political motives for doing so. He ought to have known better.
On the surface, it seems reasonable to give Wolfowitz, once a distinguished member of President Bush's team as deputy secretary of defense, a break. He got involved in a minor scandal surrounding the promotion and hefty salary hike of his then-girlfriend, Shaha Ali Riza, who worked at the Bank.
For Wolfowitz, it's not been a an easy gig. His reception at the World Bank hasn't exactly been cordial — more like wading into a shark pit. Bank staffers loudly objected to his leadership in the war in Iraq, with some dripping vicious leaks to the media and others creating Web sites dedicated to tearing him down. Try as he did to appease, they were down on him from day one and never let up.
That said, Wolfowitz' behavior raises serious ethical questions.
For those who don't know, Riza was transferred to the State Department in a bid to comply with Bank rules about potential conflicts of interest for those romantically involved. To his credit, Wolfowitz never tried to conceal the relationship.
But the rule was curiously twisted when Riza's transfer turned into a far better deal than she would have gotten without her romance with Wolfowitz — specifically, a tax-free $60,000 better.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
Don’t just get rid of Wolfowitz, get rid of the World Bank as well.
Did you forget to mention that Wolfowitz’ girlfriend was on the list for promotion BEFORE he came to the World Bank? Hmmmmmmm?
Who to believe, ibdeditorials.com or the WSJ.
Decisions, decisions.
Potential promotions, she was just liek the others. If wolf was so saintly, why did he apologize and then demand ‘understanding’ to exculpate himself from ALL responsibilty without consequence? The guy sure makes things good for his close ones and his loved ones but as for the rest of the world, they are all crooks. How’d you like that screaming Robin Cleveland creature walking into your office, calling you a criminal, threatening you constantly and acting like the no-brain consultant who thinks she knows more than you? Fact: You wouldn’t and you’d start to wonder why the hostility was shown to you for no reason. Wolf has no leadership abilities, you don’t lead people with creatures like Robin Cleveland who are essentially nomerit cronies
Can’t judge the wisdom of their editorial page, but IDB’s coverage is typically more conservative than that of the WSJ, if that counts for anything.
Did you know that promotion was one of the items the World Bank people RECOMMENDED for her?
FYI. Today’s WSJ goes into detail about this and comes down strongly behind Wolfo. They make is sound like he is being set up.
The World Bank is a cesspool and Wolfo is trying to clean it up. It is probably beyond repair. I agree with a previous poster, let’s just close it down.
If it is missed, we can start over in a few years.
Don't know, and that's what's maddening.
It's just like the Alberto Gonzales mess - when he apologizes for and tries to distance himself from perfectly legal and proper actions, he makes them look shady.
I didn't think Wolfowitz did anything wrong until he started acting as though he had.
At that level, you’d think someone would want to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
But here at FR, I know that once someone ascends to that level, they are viewed as deserving anything they can get or do.
(2) The raise was the ethics committee's idea- not Wolfowitz's.
(3) Wolfowitz formally offered to recuse himself from the process and the ethics committee said it was not necessary.
Wolfowitz is being railroaded by vindictive idiots cheered on by anti-war morons.
Which is why Wolfowitz officially offered to recuse himself from the entire process if the ethics committee found it necessary.
He apologized because if he refused to apologize taht would mean that he was blaming the ethics committee for the brouhaha.
In reality, Wolfowitz did nothing wrong and the ethics committee did nothing wrong.
Wolfowitz quite responsibly, as President of the bank, took a "buck stops here" approach - rather than throw the bank's ethics committee under the bus.
I don't understand your bizarre animus toward Robin Cleveland.
The IBD piece is a screed, devoid of specific detail but long on speculative characterization. It also suggests that Wolfowitz did something illegal as well as unethical - the first I've ever heard of that.
The WSJ actually cites specific memos and letters, giving dates, times and quotes and citing the specific ethics guidelines under discussion.
Poor showing by IBD.
He had no reason to apologize. I disagree strongly with this editorial which I think was based on a take made before this weekend’s document release by the Bank.
Exactly.
Wolfowitz is being targetted, just like Rumsfeld, by the Left and the MSM because of Iraq not because of some manufactured scandal at the World Bank. It is all about Bush who appointed him.
"The only way this fiasco could get any worse would be for Mr. Wolfowitz to resign in the teeth of so much dishonesty and cravenness. We're glad the Bush Administration isn't falling for this Euro-bureaucracy-media putsch. Mr. Wolfowitz has apologized for any mistakes he's made, though we're not sure why. He's the one who deserves an apology."
But he did. That legitimizes the complaints against him, which I why I don't understand it.
Sorry, I just don’t buy all these excuses for this guy. When you take over such a high-profile position known for its corruption, the last thing you do is pork some corporate whore and then explicity direct that she get a fat a raise to some cushy position. Conservative or liberal - corrupt is corrupt.
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