The American Mind

The clock ticked towards Paul Wolfowitz’s end as World Bank president. The board, the White House, Wolfowitz finally came to an agreement on the terms of his departure. Wolfowitz agreed to leave by 06.30, and the bank board gave him some vindication:

The resignation, effective June 30, brought a dramatic conclusion to two days of negotiations between Mr. Wolfowitz and the bank board after weeks of turmoil.

“He assured us that he acted ethically and in good faith in what he believed were the best interests of the institution, and we accept that,” said the board’s directors in a statement issued Thursday night. “We also accept that others involved acted ethically and in good faith.”

In the carefully negotiated statement, the bank board praised Mr. Wolfowitz for his two years of service, particularly for his work in arranging debt relief and pressing for more assistance to poor countries, especially in Africa. They also cited Mr. Wolfowitz’s work in combating corruption, his signature issue.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board concludes:

Mr. Wolfowitz “assured us that he acted ethically and in good faith in what he believed were the best interests of the institution, and we accept that,” the directors said, thus rejecting the findings of a rigged investigating committee that had ignored key evidence. The most damning judgment the directors could muster is that “a number of mistakes were made,” including by the bank’s own ethics committee that had refused to let Mr. Wolfowitz recuse himself from matters involving his girlfriend, Shaha Riza.

In other words, this was all about politics. And all that mattered to Mr. Wolfowitz’s accusers was to be rid of him, whatever the pretext or methods. The least they can do now is restore Ms. Riza to her job, assuming she wants to be part of an organization that treated her so shabbily.

The World Bank is a seriously flawed institution dominated by a staff association acting like a thuggish American-style union. They never wanted Wolfowitz as president in the first place and seeked his ouster almost from the start.

Rumored replacements include Tony Blair, Paul Volcker, and Henry Paulson. Via the AP James Joyner adds Sen. Richard Lugar and former Congressman Jim Leach to the list.

The inmates are running the asylum. Any new president has to “clean the World Bank stables, or shut it down.” As Betsy Newmark asks, “If it can’t be cleaned up, then what good is it?”

“Wolfowitz Resigns From World Bank”