World Bank affair ‘sign of US impunity’/ Financial TimesUK

[TexasLawyer]

World Bank affair ‘sign of US impunity’

By Guy Dinmore in Washington

Published: May 18 2007 19:38

The controversial nature of Paul Wolfowitz‘s tenure at the World Bank can be traced to a culture of impunity and US exceptionalism that has characterised the Bush administration and dominated the direction of its foreign policy, according to academics and former officials.

Critics agreed with the verdict of the World Bank special panel - set up to investigate the circumstances surrounding the pay rise and secondment to the State Department of Mr Wolfowitz’s girlfriend at the bank - that he had “from the outset cast himself in opposition to the established rules of the institution”.

While a minor affair in itself, they said the violations of ethics rules at the bank reflected the willingness of leading Bush administration figures to set aside established rules and procedures – ranging from the Geneva conventions in dealing with prisoners, to carrying out extraordinary renditions and tolerating torture, to electronic eavesdropping. “They came into office with an assurance that they were right. Their style was not one of listening to alternative arguments,” commented Joseph Nye, Harvard University professor.

Mr Wolfowitz was known for ignoring the advice of those around him while deputy defence secretary in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. “Wolfowitz was always dogmatic, sure of his own position,” Mr Nye said, recalling Mr Wolfowitz’s dismissal of General Eric Shinseki’s estimate that several hundred thousand troops would be required to secure Iraq as “wildly off the mark”. Mr Wolfowitz also told Congress, contrary to the advice of oil industry experts, that Iraq would “relatively soon” finance its own reconstruction.

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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/32cc64ec-0568-11dc-b151-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=5aedc804-2f7b-11da-8b51-00000e2511c8.html

[Erika]

1. Wolfie was such an ass

Totally approved by the corporatist George W Bush.