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Thread ID: 17347 | Posts: 15 | Started: 2005-03-16
2005-03-16 17:06 | User Profile
[url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a1Sxb3vEFVpU&refer=us ]Wolfowitz to Be Nominated as World Bank President (Update1)[/url]
:caiphas:
March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Paul D. Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense and an architect of the Iraq War, will be nominated as the next head of the World Bank, a U.S. official said.
President George W. Bush will name Wolfowitz later today, the official said. He would replace James Wolfensohn, 71, who said in January that he will leave the institution when his term ends May 31.
Wolfowitz's nomination must be approved by all of the World Bank's member countries. [u]In the past, that's been largely a formality[/u] as by tradition the U.S. chooses the head of the World Bank and European officials choose the managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
"He is someone of high intellect, broad experience in and out of government and he has many of the qualifications needed to lead the bank," Wolfensohn said in an interview in Washington today. "I look forward to a successful transition."
Treasury Department spokesman Rob Nichols declined to comment on the nomination. Treasury oversees U.S. policy at the World Bank and IMF.
Other candidates for the World Bank position included former Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina and Bush administration AIDS policy chief Randall Tobias.
'Lot of Baggage'
The U.S. official called Wolfowitz a proven leader, intellectually and operationally. His management experience running the Pentagon, the largest government agency with nearly 700,000 civilian employees and 1.3 million in uniform will serve him well at the World Bank, the official said.
"The truth of the matter is that Paul Wolfowitz is better qualified to be at the World Bank than any other possible candidate," said Edwin Truman, former assistant secretary for international affairs at the U.S. Treasury. "On the other hand, he comes with a lot of baggage."
Wolfowitz was a strong advocate of the Iraq war, calling for the toppling of Saddam Hussein and helping the administration craft its rationale for the invasion.
He pushed a hard-line policy against Iraqi aggression in Kuwait during the Gulf War, then played a negotiating role after its end, seeking to strengthen Saudi Arabia's military capabilities and reduce arms sales to the region.
A critic of former President Bill Clinton's approach toward China and Russia, Wolfowitz urged tougher stances on those countries' missile transfers to Iran.
World Bank Focus
Responding to a report in the Financial Times earlier this month that Wolfowitz was a candidate for the World Bank, a Defense Department spokesman said he would remain at the Pentagon. "Secretary Wolfowitz has been asked to stay on in an extremely important job, one that he likes doing very much," Defense Department spokesman Larry DiRita said March 1.
Under Wolfowitz, the Bush administration may now try to narrow the focus of the World Bank, returning the international lending institution to its roots of primarily financing large infrastructure projects and limiting the practice of handing out zero-interest loans, analysts such as Alan Meltzer, who led a 2000 congressional inquiry into the World Bank, said.
"He's a strong-minded man," said Meltzer, a Carnegie Mellon economics professor who chaired a 2000 congressional panel on the World Bank. Unlike Wolfensohn, "Paul Wolfowitz is the kind of person who is likely to look to have a focus."
The lender, the largest financier of projects in developing nations, broadened its scope under Wolfensohn, who sought a more "humanizing" role for the bank, according to Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning professor at Columbia University and former chief economist of the World Bank.
State, Defense Veteran
Since taking over in 1995, Wolfensohn cut by 40 percent financing for dams, bridges and infrastructure projects, and shifted that money to programs promoting climate change and development.
The U.S. is seeking to scale back some of Wolfensohn's projects, overhaul the bank's $20 billion a year lending operation and more effectively manage more than 10,000 employees scattered in 109 nations, Meltzer said.
Bush named Wolfowitz, 61, as deputy to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in February 2001. Then dean of Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Wolfowitz was a veteran of both the State and Defense Departments.
He served as undersecretary for policy for Vice President Dick Cheney when Cheney headed the Pentagon during the administration of former President George Bush, the current president's father.
From 1986 to 1989, Wolfowitz was the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, and assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1982 to 1986. He worked on arms control and disarmament issues in federal agencies in the 1970s.
From 1995 to 2001, Wolfowitz was a director of toymaker Hasbro Inc. He received a Masters degree in administration and a Doctorate in political science and economics from University of Chicago.
2005-03-16 21:08 | User Profile
Bushstein knows that a mere gentile would be unworthy of such a post.
From defense to world bank. His qualifications:Jew.
But this will not raise the eyebrows of the TV addled masses.
2005-03-16 21:12 | User Profile
Brooke,
Thanks for following this story.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
[url]http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4354839.stm[/url]
US hawk named to run World Bank President George W Bush has nominated US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz as the next head of the World Bank, a key development agency.
Mr Wolfowitz has earned a reputation as a hawk during his time as Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's deputy, and was a strong advocate of the Iraq war.
President Bush described Mr Wolfowitz as a "compassionate, decent man" committed to global development.
His choice of a hardliner to run the agency is likely to be controversial.
Controversial
Mr Bush said Mr Wolfowitz was "a man of good experience" and a skilled diplomat who had "helped manage a large organisation" during his time at the Pentagon.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 1989-93: Under-secretary for defence policy 1986-89: US ambassador to Indonesia 1983-86: Assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs 1981-82: Head of state department policy planning staff 2001 to date - Deputy Defence Secretary
Privately, current World Bank president James Wolfensohn had made it clear that he had wanted to continue but failed to get White House backing.
He was appointed by Democrat former President Bill Clinton, and will be leaving on 1 June after 10 years in charge.
The White House began notifying other nations of its choice earlier in the day.
Mr Wolfowitz is a deeply controversial figure in US politics, the BBC's Justin Webb reports from Washington.
He is associated with the so-called "neo-conservatives" - senior figures in and around the Bush administration who believe that America needs to be very active in pressing the case for its values around the world, our correspondent says.
HAVE YOUR SAY The "Wolf" has been shown the path to the henhouse. It's hard to imagine peaceful development under his leadership.
Kelly, Washington, US
His nomination has been welcomed by International Monetary Fund head Rodrigo de Rato and UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. Both men praised Mr Wolfowitz's experience and said they were looking forward to working with him.
Mr Straw said the US president's choice was "very distinguished and experienced internationally".
It is the second time within weeks that Mr Bush has appointed a hardliner to a key international post.
Earlier in March he nominated Under-Secretary of State John Bolton to be US ambassador to the United Nations - a body Mr Bolton has repeatedly derided.
Seeking support
The World Bank numbers 184 states among its members, and is responsible for leading global efforts to promote economic development and reduce poverty.
For the appointment to go ahead, Mr Wolfowitz must be formally approved by the World Bank's executive board.
In a statement, the Bank said its directors were responsible for making the selection and were "in the process of consultations with the member countries they represent".
"An official announcement of the outcome of the deliberations and actions of the Executive Directors will be made as soon as a decision has been reached," the Bank said.
US appointments to the World Bank presidency are usually unchallenged, as are European nominations to lead the International Monetary Fund.
But there remains the possibility of a veto similar to that used by the US to stop Europe's choice for IMF chief, Caio Koch-Weser, from getting the job in 2000.
The list of candidates rumoured to be in the running to take over from him had included Carly Fiorina, the recently ousted boss of giant computer firm Hewlett-Packard.
On a recent visit to Brussels, the Bank's current president said his successor should be passionate about battling poverty and not merely an efficient manager. He declined to comment directly on Mr Wolfowitz's candidacy.
2005-03-16 21:41 | User Profile
Check these threads:
[url]http://www.originaldissent.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17040[/url]
[url]http://www.originaldissent.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16964&highlight=World+Bank[/url]
2005-03-16 21:59 | User Profile
Jew Wolfowitz replaces Jew Wolfensohn and Jew Jack Straw gives it a big thumbs-up. How nice...What a pile of :dung: .
'Wer kennt den Jude kennt den Teufel'
2005-03-16 23:25 | User Profile
[QUOTE]"He is someone of high intellect, broad experience in and out of government and he has many of the qualifications needed to lead the bank,"[/QUOTE]
Yep, he's a veteran Washington infighter who knows whom, where and when to stick the knife.
2005-03-16 23:35 | User Profile
*Brooke,
Thanks for following this story.*
You're welcome, BK!
[url=http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050316/APF/503161226 ][B]World Reacts to Wolfowitz Bank Nomination [/B][/url]
Published Wednesday, March 16, 2005
By JOCELYN GECKER Associated Press Writer PARIS
Around the world, the notion of U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz leading the World Bank met with reactions ranging from official reserve to skepticism and [u]outright denunciation[/u]. :thumbsup:
Wolfowitz, nominated Wednesday by President Bush, is widely seen as a key instigator in the U.S. push to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. International organizations worried about the nominee's hawkish politics and questioned whether he is right for the job.
Bush, who has sought to mend ties with European allies that opposed the Iraq war, called French President Jacques Chirac to tell him the news.
Chirac, one of the staunchest critics of the war, "took note of this candidacy," his office said, adding that "France would examine it in the spirit of friendship between France and United States and with an eye on the capital mission of the World Bank to the service of development."
One of those most vocally opposed to the idea was U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's top poverty adviser.
"It's time for other candidates to come forward that have experience in development," Professor Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and an Annan adviser, said in a speech to the U.N. Economic and Social Council.
"This is a position on which hundreds of millions of people depend for their lives," he said. "Let's have a proper leadership of professionalism." The United Nations had no comment.
Development and anti-poverty groups joined the chorus of criticism.
"As well as lacking any relevant experience, he is a deeply divisive figure who is unlikely to move the bank toward a more pro-poor agenda," said Patrick Watt, policy officer at British charity Action Aid.
Dave Timms, spokesman for London-based World Development Network, called it a "terrifying appointment" that highlighted a lack of democracy in major lending institutions. A European traditionally heads the International Monetary fund, while an American takes the helm at the World Bank.
"You can't have a situation where rich countries lecture developing countries about democracy and then aren't prepared to exercise democracy in this kind of appointment."
Sweden's minister of International Development Cooperation Carin Jaemtin, said she was "very skeptical" with the choice, telling Swedish news agency TT, she had hoped for a candidate who would carry out the policies of outgoing bank president James Wolfensohn.
Wolfowitz, 61, was among the most forceful of those in the Bush administration in arguing that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, and he had predicted that Americans would be welcomed as liberators rather than occupiers once they toppled Saddam's government.
Wolfowitz' reputation as a hard-liner made it difficult to cheer his nomination to head the World Bank, said Nigerian newspaper columnist Pini Jason. He said Wolfowitz's selection could be a "bad omen" for the Third World.
"It is very likely that George Bush will want to link World Bank policies to his own vision of democratizing the world: Democracy according to the White House," said Jason, who writes for The Vanguard newspaper.
2005-03-17 14:12 | User Profile
Wolfie knows a lot about finance. Remember when he claimed that the Iraq war would pay for itself through the sale of Iraqi oil? Even without the attacks on the pipelines this was a pipedream. Once again, the Bush Administration rewards incompetency or worse.
2005-03-17 19:07 | User Profile
Rice appointed Secretary of State Chertoff appointed Chief of Homeland Security Bolton appointed UN Ambassador Wolfowitz to become Chief of the World Bank
Jeez, what's next, Rumsfeld to run the Peace Corps?
2005-03-17 19:12 | User Profile
Perle to be made Secretary of Treasury.
2005-03-17 19:28 | User Profile
Condi to be made Secretary of State?
Oh, wait... that actually happened.
2005-03-17 19:43 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Sertorius]Perle to be made Secretary of Treasury.[/QUOTE]
.....in a US President Joe Lieberman administration, Perle would be appointed SoT, with high recommendation from US Vice-President Bill Kristol.
Don't laugh, America is the land of opportunity!
2005-03-17 20:01 | User Profile
Bernie Eibers to head the Federal Reserve
Abe Foxman for Spokesman/Press Secretary
Ariel Sharon to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Morris Dees to run The National Endowment of Arts
2005-03-17 21:16 | User Profile
Chertoff as Homeland Security...uh...nevermind.
Dershowitz as Attorney General.
2005-03-17 23:57 | User Profile
[QUOTE]From defense to world bank. His qualifications: Jew.[/QUOTE] Ethnic nepotism at its utmost.