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Pious Perverts See other Pious Perverts Articles Title: Europeans Press Wolfowitz to Quit as Bank Chief (FINALLY, THE END FOR WOLFIE?) Europeans Press Wolfowitz to Quit as Bank Chief By STEVEN R. WEISMAN WASHINGTON, May 10 — European leaders have told the Bush administration that Paul D. Wolfowitz must resign as president of the World Bank in order to avoid a vote next week by the bank’s board declaring that he no longer has its confidence to function as the bank’s leader, European officials said Thursday. The officials said the board was drafting a resolution reflecting its view that the relationship between Mr. Wolfowitz and the governing body of the bank had “broken beyond repair.” They noted that, if he remained in office, some European countries were planning to reduce contributions to the World Bank that would aid poor countries and instead would channel the money to European agencies and other groups for distribution. “The administration has been told that its battle to save Wolfowitz cannot be won,” said a European official, who like others who discussed the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter is confidential. “His relationship with the board is not only damaged. It is broken.” Bank officials say that the growing determination to oust Mr. Wolfowitz has led to a polling of the 24 members of the bank board and that a majority favor his ouster. It was not clear why the board was not preparing simply to vote to oust Mr. Wolfowitz from his job. The bank’s governing articles say that a president ceases to hold his job if the board so decides. Instead, the board appeared to be searching for language to attract a majority vote and also to represent the strongest possible rebuke that would serve as the functional equivalent of an ouster by making his situation untenable and all but halting his ability to travel, meet with foreign leaders, negotiate on policy or make personnel decisions. Disclosure of the board’s plans came as Mr. Wolfowitz was preparing to make a last-ditch appeal to save his job, on the ground that the charges of misconduct and favoritism against him have been unfair and based on distortions. Responding to the latest threat of a vote, Mr. Wolfowitz’s lawyer, Robert S. Bennett, said: “If this is true, it’s disappointing and outrageous. What is the point of giving us time to make a submission if they have already made up their minds?” Mr. Bennett said that Mr. Wolfowitz would be submitting “a powerful presentation that shows without doubt that there is no bad faith on his part, no conflict of interest on his part” and that a premature judgment raised doubts about the bank’s credibility. Bank officials say that Mr. Wolfowitz has already been given an opportunity to make his case in testimony before the bank’s special committee investigating him and that the committee and board members have reviewed hundreds of pages of testimony and documents. Bank officials familiar with the process of drafting the resolution to be adopted next week said the language was being revised in order to secure support that would be as broad as possible. At present, these officials said, support for the no-confidence resolution has come from Europe, most of Asia and Latin America. Mr. Bennett has said that Mr. Wolfowitz would file a written statement by the end of this week countering the committee’s conclusion that he violated conflict-of-interest rules and would appear before bank officials to defend himself next week. He has been invited to do so on Tuesday. But with an acceleration of discussions about Mr. Wolfowitz throughout the bank and between finance and development ministries and their counterparts in Washington, it appeared that time was running out for him. The vote declaring him no longer able to function as president could come Wednesday, European and bank officials said. There had been talk in recent weeks of an arrangement in which Mr. Wolfowitz would be offered the option of resigning in return for some kind of resolution saying he acted in good faith in the handling of a pay and promotion package for Shaha Ali Riza, his companion. But on Thursday it appeared too late for such language to be included in any resolution to be adopted next week. European officials have encouraged the United States to go along with Mr. Wolfowitz’s ouster in return for a promise that President Bush could continue the tradition of the United States picking the next president. But that possibility has not been seized by the administration in its talks with the bank. There was no immediate response from the Bush administration on the possibility of a no-confidence vote, but officials said the dire situation for Mr. Wolfowitz had been discussed recently with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Michele Davis, Mr. Paulson’s spokeswoman, said Thursday that Mr. Paulson’s talks had been confined to ensuring a fair process for Mr. Wolfowitz. Ms. Rice’s spokesman said she was not involved in any talks about whether Mr. Wolfowitz should resign. The bank board committee found last week that Mr. Wolfowitz violated bank rules and the terms of his contract barring conflicts of interest when he ordered a pay and promotion package for Ms. Riza upon becoming president in 2005.
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#1. To: aristeides (#0)
pretty clear wolfie is critical to neo con plans given his psychotic reluctance to admit defeat.
He and Gonzo refuse to leave. Why are they so irreplaceable?
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