FT: Bush administration is divided into three camps over Wolfowitz affair

[sabra]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cf5af306-03d2-11dc-a931-000b5df10621.html

<snip>

The first, which has been led by Hank Paulson, the US Treasury secretary, and “two or three like-minded individuals” in the White House, has consistently argued that Mr Wolfowitz’s continued tenure at the bank would impose a mounting cost on American interests and on Washington’s ability to set the agenda at the World Bank. It might also endanger America’s continued right to nominate the head of the World Bank (Europe has an equivalent right for the International Monetary Fund), they argued.

The second, which has been led by Dick Cheney, the vice-president, and Karl Rove, who is Mr Bush’s senior strategist, say the president should remain loyal to Mr Wolfowitz in the teeth of what they see as a European campaign to take revenge for the World Bank president’s pivotal role in pushing for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. They have scant interest in the health of “multilateral institutions like the World Bank”, said the insider.

And the third camp, which includes a number of mid-level operatives in the White House who were described as “non-ideological conservatives”, as well as – at times – Josh Bolten, the White House chief of staff, believe the longer the crisis continues the more it damages the US president. They are now arguing for Mr Wolfowitz’s departure. Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, has recently added her voice to theirs.

“There has been a food fight in the White House over Wolfowitz during the last four weeks and nobody really prevailed,” said the insider. “Whenever we felt that we were beginning to convince the president that it was not in America’s interests to keep delaying the inevitable (departure of Mr Wolfowitz) then somebody like Karl (Rove) or the vice-president would intervene and it would be back to square one.”

...


“Not many people care about the multilateral institutions or have a view one way or another,” said an official. “At no point has the administration sat down and said: “What do we think about the World Bank? How does it conflate with American interests?”

[malaise]

1. Wolfowitz will be gone before sunset today

Fugg him. Word is that he is negotiating the terms of the departure. Only one fact matters. He has been asked to leave for violating the World Bank rules. Bush and his goons violate any rule in any organization.

Add.

[Fridays Child]

2. And, since, Bush doesn't have enough brain cells to form an opinion on the matter...

He's probably the rope in a Karl v. Condi tug-of-war.

Karl will win.

[malaise]

4. This is out of all their hands

The WB Board has already made up its mind. Yet again Bush and his cronies drag out an ugly situation unnecessarily. Wolfowitz should have resigned ages ago just like Brownie, just like Rumsfeld, just like Gonzales. This is the most arrogant and corrupt regime in history. The Romans now look like saints. They do not even see that the end is nigh.

[tularetom]

3. Who are these asswipes? WTF does "conflate" mean?

I'm a peaceful person but I have this urge to physically pound the living piss out of people that go around asking how the world bank conflates with american interests.