A special committee looking into whether World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz breached rules by approving a promotion for his girlfriend has declined to meet with his lawyer.
"I have heard indirectly they will not meet with me..." the lawyer, Robert Bennett, told Reuters.
Showing posts with label Wolfowitz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wolfowitz. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
42 Former World Bankers Call for Wolfowitz to Resign
Pressure on Paul Wolfowitz to resign continues to escalate. On Monday 42 of the World Bank's senior former executives called on him to step down in an open letter published in the FT. “There is only one way for Mr Wolfowitz to further the mission of the bank: he must resign,” the letter said.
Below is the entire text of the letter:
To the Editor of the Financial Times,
For the good of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz should resign
Sir,
We are a group of ex-World Bank Group staff who occupied senior positions in the institution (MDs, Senior VPs, VPs, Directors), and write in our personal capacities. Some of us have worked under Paul Wolfowitz, some of us have not, but all of us are watching with great concern the ongoing events at the Bank because of their impact on development and the interests of the poor. At a time when fighting poverty remains crucial in building a more hopeful, more balanced, and more secure world, the World Bank must remain credible if it is to speak with the moral authority necessary to move the poverty agenda forward.
For the Bank to succeed, it must be effective, especially on matters of good governance which Mr. Wolfowitz rightly emphasized as crucial to poverty reduction. What staff objected to was not the principle -- which they applauded. Rather it was that the policy was implemented with no consultation, and little transparency or apparent consistency. Now, as a result of a process of broad consultation that he was forced to undertake by the Board, Mr. Wolfowitz has been able to forge a consensus on how to raise the bar on corruption in a practical way. It is this that can serve as a lasting legacy at the Bank.
Mr. Wolfowitz says he believes in the mission of the Bank and wishes to continue. We believe that he can no longer be an effective leader. He has lost the trust and respect of Bank staff at all levels, provoked a rift among senior managers, developed tense relations with the Board, damaged his own credibility on good governance –his flagship issue, and alienated some key shareholders at a time when their support is essential for a successful replenishment of the resources needed to help the poorest countries, especially in Africa.
We have taken note of the fact that the ministers who met last weekend in Washington took the unusual step of expressing publicly their great concern about the situation in the Bank. And staff and some of our senior colleagues within the Bank have advised Mr. Wolfowitz that the best course of action for the future of the Bank would be for him to step down. This painful, unprecedented action was not a rash conclusion. We support it and salute the courage of our colleagues. Like them, we believe this is a regrettable but essential step to prevent the Bank’s effectiveness as a development institution, and its credibility as the international community’s trustee of resources for fighting poverty, from being fatally compromised. There is only one way for Mr. Wolfowitz to further the mission of the Bank: he should resign.
Gautam Kaji, former Managing Director
Peter Woicke, former Managing Director and EVP
Shengman Zhang, former Managing Director
Roberto Danino, former senior VP and general counsel
Gary Perlin, former Senior VP and CFO
Jean-Louis Sarbib, former senior VP
Shahid Javed Burki, former VP
Cesare Calari, former VP
David de Ferranti, former VP
Ian Goldin, former VP
Ian Johnson, former VP
Geoffrey Lamb, former VP
Johannes Linn, former VP
Callisto Madavo, former VP
Gobind Nankani, former VP
Christiaan Poortman, former VP
Jean-François Rischard, former VP
Jo Ritzen, former VP
Richard Stern, former VP
John Wilton, former VP
Michael Barth, former Director
Amar Bhattacharya, former Senior Adviser
Gerard Caprio, former Director
Michael Carter, former Director
Dennis de Tray, former Director
Paula Donovan, former Director
Marisa Fernandez-Palacios, former Director
Charles Griffin, former Director
Jean-Philippe Halphen, former Director
Ann Hamilton, former Director
Paul Isenman, former Director
Homi Kharas, former Regional chief economist
Harinder Kohli, former Director
Olivier Lafourcade, former Director
Philippe Liétard, former Director
Serge Michailof, former Direector
Bernard Pasquier, former Director
Manuel Penalver Quesada, former Director
Enrique Rueda-Sabater, former Director
Alexander Shakow, former Director
Karl Voltaire, former Director
Below is the entire text of the letter:
To the Editor of the Financial Times,
For the good of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz should resign
Sir,
We are a group of ex-World Bank Group staff who occupied senior positions in the institution (MDs, Senior VPs, VPs, Directors), and write in our personal capacities. Some of us have worked under Paul Wolfowitz, some of us have not, but all of us are watching with great concern the ongoing events at the Bank because of their impact on development and the interests of the poor. At a time when fighting poverty remains crucial in building a more hopeful, more balanced, and more secure world, the World Bank must remain credible if it is to speak with the moral authority necessary to move the poverty agenda forward.
For the Bank to succeed, it must be effective, especially on matters of good governance which Mr. Wolfowitz rightly emphasized as crucial to poverty reduction. What staff objected to was not the principle -- which they applauded. Rather it was that the policy was implemented with no consultation, and little transparency or apparent consistency. Now, as a result of a process of broad consultation that he was forced to undertake by the Board, Mr. Wolfowitz has been able to forge a consensus on how to raise the bar on corruption in a practical way. It is this that can serve as a lasting legacy at the Bank.
Mr. Wolfowitz says he believes in the mission of the Bank and wishes to continue. We believe that he can no longer be an effective leader. He has lost the trust and respect of Bank staff at all levels, provoked a rift among senior managers, developed tense relations with the Board, damaged his own credibility on good governance –his flagship issue, and alienated some key shareholders at a time when their support is essential for a successful replenishment of the resources needed to help the poorest countries, especially in Africa.
We have taken note of the fact that the ministers who met last weekend in Washington took the unusual step of expressing publicly their great concern about the situation in the Bank. And staff and some of our senior colleagues within the Bank have advised Mr. Wolfowitz that the best course of action for the future of the Bank would be for him to step down. This painful, unprecedented action was not a rash conclusion. We support it and salute the courage of our colleagues. Like them, we believe this is a regrettable but essential step to prevent the Bank’s effectiveness as a development institution, and its credibility as the international community’s trustee of resources for fighting poverty, from being fatally compromised. There is only one way for Mr. Wolfowitz to further the mission of the Bank: he should resign.
Gautam Kaji, former Managing Director
Peter Woicke, former Managing Director and EVP
Shengman Zhang, former Managing Director
Roberto Danino, former senior VP and general counsel
Gary Perlin, former Senior VP and CFO
Jean-Louis Sarbib, former senior VP
Shahid Javed Burki, former VP
Cesare Calari, former VP
David de Ferranti, former VP
Ian Goldin, former VP
Ian Johnson, former VP
Geoffrey Lamb, former VP
Johannes Linn, former VP
Callisto Madavo, former VP
Gobind Nankani, former VP
Christiaan Poortman, former VP
Jean-François Rischard, former VP
Jo Ritzen, former VP
Richard Stern, former VP
John Wilton, former VP
Michael Barth, former Director
Amar Bhattacharya, former Senior Adviser
Gerard Caprio, former Director
Michael Carter, former Director
Dennis de Tray, former Director
Paula Donovan, former Director
Marisa Fernandez-Palacios, former Director
Charles Griffin, former Director
Jean-Philippe Halphen, former Director
Ann Hamilton, former Director
Paul Isenman, former Director
Homi Kharas, former Regional chief economist
Harinder Kohli, former Director
Olivier Lafourcade, former Director
Philippe Liétard, former Director
Serge Michailof, former Direector
Bernard Pasquier, former Director
Manuel Penalver Quesada, former Director
Enrique Rueda-Sabater, former Director
Alexander Shakow, former Director
Karl Voltaire, former Director
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Blumenthal Unloads on Wolfowitz
Sidney Blumenthal has the latest episode in the Riza-Wolfowitz Affair, which results in Blumenthal calling for even more investigations. This time with national security clearance questions:
...Wolfowitz's World Bank scandal over his girlfriend reveals many of the same qualities that created the wreckage he left in his wake in Iraq: grandiosity, cronyism, self-dealing and lying -- followed by an energetic campaign to deflect accountability. As with the war, he has retreated behind his fervent profession of good intentions to excuse himself. The ginning up of the conservative propaganda mill that once disseminated Wolfowitz's disinformation on WMD to defend him as the innocent victim of a political smear only underlines his tried-and-true methods of operation. The hollowness of his defense echoes in the thunderous absurdity of Monday's Wall Street Journal editorial: "Paul Wolfowitz, meet the Duke lacrosse team." ...
The World Bank continued to pay ...[Riza's] salary, which was raised by $60,000 to $193,590 annually, more than the $183,500 paid to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and all of it tax-free. Moreover, Wolfowitz got the State Department to agree that the ratings of her performance would automatically be "outstanding." ..
[At her new job at the ]State Department officials familiar with the details of this matter confirmed to me that Shaha Ali Riza was detailed to the State Department and had unescorted access while working for Elizabeth Cheney. Access to the building requires a national security clearance or permanent escort by a person with such a clearance. But the State Department has no record of having issued a national security clearance to Riza...
...officials stress that the department would never issue a clearance to a non-U.S. citizen as part of a contractual requisition. Issuing a national security clearance to a foreign national under instructions from a Pentagon official would constitute a violation of the executive orders governing clearances, they say.
Given these circumstances, the inspector general of the Defense Department should be ordered to investigate how Shaha Ali Riza was issued a Pentagon security clearance. And the inspector general of the State Department should investigate who ordered Riza's building pass and whether there was a Pentagon credentials transmittal letter.
...Wolfowitz's World Bank scandal over his girlfriend reveals many of the same qualities that created the wreckage he left in his wake in Iraq: grandiosity, cronyism, self-dealing and lying -- followed by an energetic campaign to deflect accountability. As with the war, he has retreated behind his fervent profession of good intentions to excuse himself. The ginning up of the conservative propaganda mill that once disseminated Wolfowitz's disinformation on WMD to defend him as the innocent victim of a political smear only underlines his tried-and-true methods of operation. The hollowness of his defense echoes in the thunderous absurdity of Monday's Wall Street Journal editorial: "Paul Wolfowitz, meet the Duke lacrosse team." ...
The World Bank continued to pay ...[Riza's] salary, which was raised by $60,000 to $193,590 annually, more than the $183,500 paid to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and all of it tax-free. Moreover, Wolfowitz got the State Department to agree that the ratings of her performance would automatically be "outstanding." ..
[At her new job at the ]State Department officials familiar with the details of this matter confirmed to me that Shaha Ali Riza was detailed to the State Department and had unescorted access while working for Elizabeth Cheney. Access to the building requires a national security clearance or permanent escort by a person with such a clearance. But the State Department has no record of having issued a national security clearance to Riza...
...officials stress that the department would never issue a clearance to a non-U.S. citizen as part of a contractual requisition. Issuing a national security clearance to a foreign national under instructions from a Pentagon official would constitute a violation of the executive orders governing clearances, they say.
Given these circumstances, the inspector general of the Defense Department should be ordered to investigate how Shaha Ali Riza was issued a Pentagon security clearance. And the inspector general of the State Department should investigate who ordered Riza's building pass and whether there was a Pentagon credentials transmittal letter.
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