Wolfowitz should walk

The Los Angeles Times ^ | 16 April 2007 | Editorial staff

[Kitten Festival]

PAUL WOLFOWITZ'S enemies were undoubtedly out to get him from the moment the man best known as the architect of the Iraq war walked through the door of the World Bank. Just as surely, he has handed them ample cause to demand his resignation as the bank's president. But the real shame in this story is that Wolfowitz's most worthwhile initiative — the World Bank's fight against global corruption — may fall victim to the appearance of corruption in his personal life.

On taking the job in 2005 after stepping down as deputy defense secretary, Wolfowitz was obliged to do something about his girlfriend. She worked at the bank, which prohibits relationships between supervisors and those under their charge. He needed to ask her to find new employment, then recuse himself from the terms of her severance.

Instead, he arranged for her transfer to the State Department and for an unusually generous compensation package. This showed a remarkably cavalier attitude toward insider dealing and spending public money — especially considering that Wolfowitz has devoted so much energy fighting both on the global stage.

[Justice]

Instead, he arranged for her transfer to the State Department and for an unusually generous compensation package

That's because she was already on the list for promotion at the World Bank, having been employed there for years there before Wolfowitz came in.