Paul Wolfowitz is widely considered the architect of George Bush's misadventure in Iraq. When that dream soured, he quit his job as deputy defense secretary to try his hand as president of the World Bank. The Bloomberg news service reports Wolfie has done about as well with the World Bank as he did with Iraq:
" World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz faces mounting criticism from directors of the international lending organization who say he relies on a coterie of political advisers with little expertise in development while driving away seasoned managers.
"Half of the bank's 29 highest-level executives have departed since Wolfowitz, the former U.S. deputy Defense secretary and an architect of President George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq, took office in June 2005. Among them is Christiaan Poortman, vice president for the Middle East and a 30-year World Bank veteran, who left in September after resisting pressure to speed up the pace of lending and adding staff in Iraq.
"'Itwas very sad to see someone of Mr. Poortman's caliber leaving,' Eckhard Deutscher, one of 24 executive directors who oversee the management of the Washington-based lender, said in an interview. 'The bank needs to be very careful not to lose too much of its human capital.'
"The exodus is damaging the world's leading poverty-fighting institution, which provided $23.6 billion last year for projects such as schools and clinics, say directors and outside observers.
"Wolfowitz, 62, 'has placed considerably more trust in a small group of outsiders from the Republican Party than in the seasoned experts in the bank,'' said Alison Cave, head of the World Bank staff association, which represents more than 13,000 employees.
No comments:
Post a Comment