World Bank head to quit under ethics charges
Neoconservative ideologue Paul Wolfowitz, widely regarded as the architect of the losing war on Iraq, is negotiating the terms of his resignation from the august World Bank financial body, according to reports.
A World Bank special committee decided that Wolfowitz’s violation — allegedly arranging a cushy position for his Libyan-born female companion — violated World Bank ethics rules. The Bank’s board of directors met Wednesday to analyse the findings.
World Bank officials are seeking to dismiss Wolfowitz without taking on the Bush regime, which continues to support him. The White House is supposedly taking the line that, if the World Bank withdraws the allegations, it will support his eventual termination.
The Wolfowitz conundrum comes as the United States seeks European support for Iran sanctions.
Wolfowitz has demanded that the board distance itself from the special committee report.In any case, Wolfowitz is as good as gone, already unwelcome at an end-of-week meeting and devoid of staff support. The United States has a lock on picking a new successor, mentioning such people as Paul Volcker, remembered in the US as being blamed for financial policies that destroyed family farming in America. Another contender is Stanley Fischer, ex-finance minister of Israel.
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