Friday, April 13, 2007

Wolfowitz to be fired from World Bank?

Looks like the former second in command at the Pentagon has some 'splaining to do. From FNC:
Can World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz survive in his job? Increasingly, there is speculation that he cannot.

Wolfowitz, 63, is facing the biggest crisis of his career: a scandal involving promotions and pay hikes to his girlfriend that threatens his control of the world’s largest and most influential anti-poverty institution, which doles out some $20 billion annually in loans and grants to developing countries.

After a week of shifting explanations by bank officials, a clearly-beleaguered Wolfowitz on Thursday announced at a Washington press briefing that he made "a mistake for which I am sorry" over his handling of a promotion and huge pay increases for bank staffer Shaha Riza, who had a romantic relationship with Wolfowitz that precedes his appointment to the bank’s helm in 2005.
...
The pressure has been building rapidly on Wolfowitz, following allegations that he may have broken bank rules in ordering hikes in job status and pay for Riza. (Both are divorced.) The main problem is that Wolfowitz may have done this without consulting organs of the bank board that would otherwise deal with such conflicts of interest.

One word comes to mind when I think of Wolfowitz in this story: dumb#ss!

Seriously, dude, did you think that giving promotions and perks to the woman with whom you bump uglies isn't going to attract any attention? Did you not think "You know, it might be a good idea for me to recuse myself from this process"? What a serious lapse in judgment!

BTW, is it just me, or does anyone else think that Wolfowitz looks a lot like Peter Coyote?