http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/16/news/international/world_bank/
"President Bush will announce that Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz is his choice to be president of the World Bank, a senior administration official told CNN Wednesday.
Wolfowitz was one of the main advocates for the war in Iraq."
"[] the Europeans were nervous that Wolfowitz would prove similar to former World Bank head and Former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.
Radelet said McNamara was accused of channeling aid to nations based not on need but on their support of U.S. policy."
"The bank has been criticized in the past for supporting grand schemes -- like airports or dams -- that failed to produce the intended economic boost and instead further burdened the borrowing country with debt and interest payments."
oh great, now when people tell me that my coreligionists control the world's money supply, they'll be right.
The best thing is that the other two proposed candidates were Carleton Fiorina and Bono. If I was Wolfowitz, I'd probably cry quite a bit right now.
wow... i'm not even sure who i'd want more out of that team... wolfowitz, who sees a military solution to every diplomatic problem, fiorina, who wasn't even good enough to be ceo of h.p., which is to computers as the yugo is to cars, or bono, the creator of one of the best pop bands of the 80s.
no, actually, i'd totally pick bono.
caveat: the edge would have to work in public relations and michael stipe would be vice president.
Er, I don't understand... Why are we putting a soldier in charge of a bank? We wouldn't put a bank president in charge of a battlefield... This is odd.
yeah, it's so stupid its funny.
the only reason you'd put a soldier in charge of a bank is because you wanted someone who was good at following orders.
also, as an aside, there was a famous colonel during the american fratricidal war who was a bank manager. i learned that when i was in elementary school, but i can't remember his name anymore.
>Why are we putting a soldier in charge of a bank? We wouldn't put a bank president in charge of a battlefield... This is odd.
>yeah, it's so stupid its funny.
At first it seems like a peanut gallery for the political fallout characters (McNamara?). That's probably nonsense. But, I quite like the comparison to McNamara, because it makes sense: As a worldbank president, you will be doing less actual "banking" in the traditional sense, than making use of political know-how and the links you forged during your time as an active politician. At the very least from an American standpoint, this is a brilliant decision, because Wolfowitz - let's face it - is a pro at politics, has a wealth of useful contacts and is quite an intelligent man. In conclusion I don't think it's stupid at all, I think it to be a stroke of tactical genius.
It would be interesting to put a banker in official charge of a battlefield. I'm pretty sure he'd win you the war.
I've been convinced that assholes form the policy of the World Bank for quite some time. I'm glad it looks like I won't have to make uncomfortable changes to my worldview.