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Dept. Of Sweetheart Deals: Does He Hear the World's Poor? Don't Bank on It.
The Washington Post ^ | 21 April 2007 | William Easterly

Posted on 04/21/2007 8:43:45 AM PDT by Kitten Festival

Pity Paul Wolfowitz: Every time he tries regime change, he triggers an insurrection.

The latest revolt was launched by World Bank staffers and Western aid leaders in response to the revelation that Wolfowitz -- who had made a crusade against corruption the hallmark of his bumpy tenure as president of the World Bank -- may have awarded his companion a $60,000 pay increase. A staff that had always hated working for the intellectual architect of the Iraq war was now quite literally shouting for his resignation, and Wolfowitz was left wandering the corridors of the bank looking for a Green Zone in which to hide.

The root cause of his debacle at the bank was pretty much the same as the reason for the fiasco in Iraq: intellectual hubris at the top that disdained the messy realities at the bottom. He imagined it would be as easy to clean up the pathologies of foreign aid as he had thought it would be to create democracy in the Middle East.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: corruption; girlfriend; wolfowitz; worldbank
Excellent essay, this guy is really reading what's going on. He gets it.
1 posted on 04/21/2007 8:43:48 AM PDT by Kitten Festival
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To: Kitten Festival

Read the Wall Street Journal’s analysis of the Wolfowitz mess at The World Bank. He went out of his way to avoid a conflict of interest regarding his female friend. Now the bureaurocrats and Eurocrats at the world bank are sandbagging Wolfowitz. It’s an attempt to get at Bush and to remove a man who might actually hold them accountable for their venality.


2 posted on 04/21/2007 9:24:08 AM PDT by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopechne is walking around free)
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To: muir_redwoods

The Journal put in the stuff that would help their man and left out the stuff that would make him look bad. They are biased and don’t like the central reality of this, which is that a GIRLFRIEND of a leader of a bank got a much better deal than she would have gotten had she not been his girlfriend. That’s the crux of the matter. She made out. He’s been good to her. The Journal can obfuscate it all it likes but the fact remains,she did better hanging tight with him than she would have done not hanging tight with him. All else is just selective reporting. The Washington Times did a much better analysis of the 109 documents reporting, pointing out the areas that show Wolfie’s self-interest. Also, Fox News is starting to back away from Wolfie’s protestations of innocence, have you seen their latest articles? Even Fox is getting disgusted with what it’s looking at. One more time: the girl did better with Wolf’s patronage than she would have done without it. In fact, she did much better than anyone at the world bank, her 8% salary hike plus promised promotions not entirely on merit were way out of line with what she could have expected. If her career was that important, she could have recused herself from her live-in lover, Paul Wolfowitz. But she wanted it both ways - extra salary, guaranteed promotions and Paul at night.


3 posted on 04/21/2007 10:07:56 AM PDT by Kitten Festival
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To: Kitten Festival

It’s clear to this reader that Wolfowitz is being set up by the eurocrats at the World Bank. He had little to do with the benefits that flowed to his girlfriend and the record shows that. The benefits were inflated to make it look like he’s the perpetrator when in reality the cabal of do-nothing aparatchiks at the WB simply want to discredit the first bank president to hold them accountable.


4 posted on 04/21/2007 10:43:57 AM PDT by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopechne is walking around free)
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To: Kitten Festival
Robert McNamera has left the building.

The parallels are pretty striking. Go home, Wolfie.
5 posted on 04/21/2007 12:14:31 PM PDT by George W. Bush
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To: muir_redwoods
It's not acceptable for executives in the corporate world to have sexual relationships with their subordinates. Or for military officers to fraternize with the enlisted.

Why shouldn't we expect the same thing at the World Bank or any other government agency? Wolfowitz should not have dated and slept around at the office. It's bad practice and a sign of a bad organizational leader.
6 posted on 04/21/2007 12:17:57 PM PDT by George W. Bush
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To: George W. Bush
Wolfowitz was involved with her before he accepted the position with the WB. He made it clear that he didn't want to be in a position to influence her career before he started and asked for an ethics ruling before he signed. Her compensation was decided by others and he signed off strictly (and after getting another ethics ruling)in his capacity as president and did not decide her compensation.

Read the abundantly clear analysis at opinionjournal.com. It's the Wall Street Journal's editorial page and they have the clearest presentation yet of how the European are railroading Wolfowitz.

7 posted on 04/21/2007 12:53:27 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopechne is walking around free)
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To: muir_redwoods
It's always bad policy for the boss to sleep with the hired help. Period.

Euroweenies didn't put him in this position. He did.
8 posted on 04/21/2007 12:59:50 PM PDT by George W. Bush
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To: George W. Bush
Read the facts then comment. He's been forthright from the start and told eveyone who would listen that he was involved with this woman long before he took the job. The smell of set up is clear to one who has read the facts. The documents support his position, the euroweenie press does not.

You can choose your side.

9 posted on 04/21/2007 1:36:53 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopechne is walking around free)
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To: George W. Bush
For your reading pleasure and edification

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009948

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009943

10 posted on 04/21/2007 1:42:17 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopechne is walking around free)
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To: muir_redwoods
I dislike the World Bank to begin with. It's always filled with political hacks, usually ones who can't get confirmed for more important jobs. Wolfie is more of the same.

He can go.
11 posted on 04/21/2007 1:43:07 PM PDT by George W. Bush
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To: George W. Bush
"He can go." Sounds like a decision made by a mind uncluttered by the facts, but you are entitled to your opinion.
12 posted on 04/21/2007 2:01:29 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopechne is walking around free)
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To: muir_redwoods

I can’t imagine why you care so deeply. World Bank is only a notch removed from the socialists at the United Nations. I’ve no use for either of them under any circumstances. I’m no fan of any of their hacks or lackeys.


13 posted on 04/21/2007 2:03:20 PM PDT by George W. Bush (Just say no to leftwing Republicans.)
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To: George W. Bush

That’s just it. If he really cared about her ‘career’ then he wouldn’t have taken the job. There are so many things in this whole scandal that would never be tolerated for one minute in the corporate world or the military. The rules they go by are based on best practices and experience, I don’t know why it’s all being ignored in the NGO and multilateral community, but it kind of gives you a hint at how things are done in those organizations.


14 posted on 04/21/2007 2:19:05 PM PDT by Kitten Festival
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To: muir_redwoods

Re: #4. Why is every documented instance of wrongdoing a “conspiracy’? It’s like a little kid who gets into trouble and then says the whole world is against him. Maybe keeping his hands out of the cookie jar would be easier.


15 posted on 04/21/2007 2:21:11 PM PDT by Kitten Festival
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To: Kitten Festival
When you take a job like that, it's understood you're not to sleep with the hired help. Too much potential for scandal, too many opportunities for others to resent that special relationship, well, I don't think one needs to go down the entire list.

Proper CEOs don't sleep with the hired help. Not if they value their jobs.
16 posted on 04/21/2007 2:23:04 PM PDT by George W. Bush (Just say no to crossdressing Republicans.)
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To: George W. Bush
"I can’t imagine why you care so deeply."

My concern is for the facts and the truth they represent, not the World Bank or Paul Wolfowitz. I am sorry this is beyond your imagination.

17 posted on 04/21/2007 3:39:06 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopechne is walking around free)
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