[Dean's World] Dave Price: Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolfowitz?

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Dave Price:
Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolfowitz?
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1178036137.shtml


   World Bank bureaucrats, [1]apparently.

     Before addressing those matters directly, a few words about the
     Shaha Riza situation are in order. Ms. Riza is, of course, Mr.
     Wolfowitz's companion who left the World Bank to join the State
     Department when he became the Bank's president. First, the shabby
     treatment Ms. Riza endured at the World Bank began long before Mr.
     Wolfowitz's nomination was unanimously approved by the Bank's Board
     of Executive Directors in 2005. I should know, I represented the
     U.S. on the board from 2002 to 2006. Without board authorization or
     knowledge, several members of senior management--including several
     now trying to dust their tracks--pressured Ms. Riza to leave the
     World Bank while Mr. Wolfowitz's nomination was pending.
     Second, Ms. Riza is a well-known advocate of women's rights in the
     Middle East, a reputation that made her unpopular among some of my
     board colleagues well before Mr. Wolfowitz's nomination. In my
     opinion, the pressure to which she was subjected was typical of a
     culture that many female employees frequently complain is
     oppressively sexist.
     Moreover, Mr. Wolfowitz acknowledged the conflict promptly upon his
     nomination. I believe that he consistently acted in good faith
     attempting to carry out the board's wishes that the conflict be
     resolved without unduly penalizing her for making a career move she
     did not seek. He would have avoided much grief if he had simply
     presented the details of the arrangement to the ethics committee,
     if in fact he didn't, but it wasn't unreasonable to assume he was
     acting as directed, especially since the committee expressed
     satisfaction with the outcome. A clearer public explanation also
     would have helped, but no fair reader of the released documents
     would call his actions a "scandal."
     Those interested in the success of the World Bank should be under
     no illusion as to what is really motivating the staff revolt now
     playing out and what the consequences are likely to be. Many are
     opposed to Mr. Wolfowitz's anti-corruption emphasis, some on the
     good faith basis that he is placing disproportionate emphasis on
     the issue at the expense of other development priorities. Others,
     however, are opposed on the selfish basis that elevating
     anticorruption and governance considerations will result in lower
     lending levels and more difficult negotiations with borrowing
     governments. Still others may fear exposure of corruption among
     staff itself and possible adverse donor reaction if widespread
     corruption appears to plague Bank operations.

   Especially galling is the emerging news that many of the signatories
   to the letter calling for his ouster have [2]actual ethical issues, as
   opposed to the imaginary ones being used to attack Wolfy.

References

   1. http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009965
   2. http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/bstephens/?id=110010012