Berlin, Will He, Won't He?

FT Observer - The German finance ministry has the delicate matter of deciding whether to set a place at the table for Wolfowitz at a conference near Berlin this week... Amid rumours that the bank's board would at any moment decide on Wolfowitz's fate, a senior finance ministry official told journalists yesterday he was ready for all eventualities. "As of midday today we are still expecting him," he said, looking at his watch. "We'll just have to wait and see."
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Role of State Department to be investigated

Financial Times, May 16 2007 The US State Department has launched an inquiry into its role in helping Paul Wolfowitz resolve conflicts of interest that arose when he became president of the World Bank, say officials. The department is reviewing anomalies in security vetting and legal complications in the transfer of Shaha Riza from the bank to its Middle East section, said two officials.

News Round Up, May 16, 2007

WSJ- Wolfowitz's Support Diminishes --- White House Wavers As World Bank President Continues to Fight for Job
NYT- Bush Opens Door to Wolfowitz's Resigning Voluntarily
Washington Post- White House Support for Wolfowitz Wavers
Washington Post, Editorial- World-Class Mess; No one's looking good at the World Bank.
Financial Times- Wolfowitz in final plea to keep job

News Round Up, May 15, 2007

New York Times- Bank's Report Says Wolfowitz Violated Ethics
WSJ- Report Elevates Wolfowitz Fight --- Bank Board's Panel Cites A 'Crisis of Leadership'
Washington Post - Bank Rebukes Wolfowitz On Ethics; Rules Were Broken, Committee Says
LA Times- Wolfowitz faulted for `damage done' to the Bank
FT- Report concludes Wolfowitz broke rules at World Bank

News Round Up May 9, 2007

Washington Post - Wolfowitz Criticizes Handling Of Probe; World Bank Chief Accuses Panel of Leaks, Unfair Haste
New York Times - Treasury Chief Supports Delay for Wolfowitz
Wall Street Journal - World Bank Board May Take Action on Wolfowitz This Week
Financial Times - Paulson backs calls for due process

News Round Up, May 8, 2007

New York Times – Deal Is Offered for Chief's Exit at World Bank
Financial Times - Wolfowitz top aide in fresh controversy
Wall Street Journal - Wolfowitz's Fate Grows Dimmer --- Panel Finds Chief Ran Afoul of Ethics Rules; Senior Adviser Will Leave
Washington Post - Scandal May Jeopardize World Bank Funds

News Round Up, May 4, 2007

The New York Times Wolfowitz Rebuts Critics Over Tempest at World Bank
The Financial Times Wolfowitz in last-ditch change of tack
Foreign Policy Top Secret! [Mock] Memo From Paul Wolfowitz to Bank Staff By Ken Rogoff
The Washington Post Wolfowitz Blames the Bank
The Wall Street Journal Leader Cites Ambiguity (see comments for full story)
The Wall Street Journal, Gagging Shaha Riza (see comments for full story)

News Round Up, May 3, 2007

New York Times - Committee Is Likely to Say Wolfowitz Broke Rules
Financial Times - World Bank rejects 'rush to judgment'
New York Times - Wolfowitz's Big Mistake by David Brooks (see comment for full story)

News Round Up, May 2, 2007

"Turning up the heat on World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz" - WSJ

Wall Street Journal World Bank Ex-Board Member Disputes Wolfowitz --- Ethics Panel's Role on Pay Package Is Source of Discord
New York Times Former World Bank Officials Detail Discord over Wolfowitz
Washington Post Editorial - The Price of 'We Know Best'
Washington Post - Wolfowitz's Story Disputed Ex-Official; Bank Board Kept in Dark, He Says
Financial Times - Former ethics chief disputes Wolfowitz claims

News Round Up, May 1, 2007

"Wolfowitz Loses Ground" - New York Times

New York Times - Wolfowitz Goes on the Attack, but Hints at a Deal
Wall Street Journal - Wolfowitz Weighs Quitting if Name Cleared
Financial Times - Wolfowitz lashes out at 'smear campaign'
Washington Post - Wolfowitz Says He Is Target of 'Smear' Tactics

News Round Up, April 26, 2007

Battle Escalates: "Letting him stay is not an option'' - New York Times

New York Times-Wolfowitz Escalates Battle to Stay at Bank

Paul D. Wolfowitz accused the bank's board on Wednesday of treating him ''shabbily and unfairly,'' and appealed for more time to defend himself against allegations of favoritism and other matters.

But the board was described as puzzled and put off by Mr. Wolfowitz's decision, disclosed this week, to bring in Mr. Bennett, who is known as a litigator but also as someone who can make a deal in situations that seem beyond compromise.
A top European official involved in setting bank policy said there could be a deal avoiding a censure of Mr. Wolfowitz but that it had to involve Mr. Wolfowitz leaving the bank.

''There are a lot of people at the bank asking, 'What is Wolfowitz thinking?' '' the official said. ''It just looks like Wolfowitz is ramping up the pressure. I think the bank directors are looking for a deal to avoid a confrontation. But he's got to go as part of it. Letting him stay is not an option.''

Financial Times-Wolfowitz's late bid to regain initiative

Most non-US directors will probably regard any finding that Mr Wolfowitz's handling of the Riza secondment broke bank codes of conduct or ethics as sufficient to establish that his credibility is damaged beyond repair. They will also insist that the ultimate judgment about whether Mr Wolfowitz should stay or go be grounded on the broader question of whether he has the moral authority and support he needs to be effective.

Le Monde, France - Les Européens hésitent à demander le départ de Paul Wolfowitz

L'entêtement du président de la Banque mondiale irrite à Bruxelles et dans les capitales européennes, où l'on ne veut pas donner le sentiment d'attaquer l'administration américaine.

Son entêtement embarrasse les gouvernements européens, qui hésitent à exiger son départ. Après Londres et Berlin, le gouvernement français a rappelé que l'institution devait exercer ses missions dans des conditions " irréprochables d'un point de vue éthique "… Louis Michel, le commissaire européen chargé du développement, s'inquiète des conséquences de cette crise sur l'activité de la Banque mondiale. "

Cette affaire révèle surtout l'intensité de la bataille interne entre M. Wolfowitz et le personnel : si elle se prolonge ou si elle ne débouche pas sur une clarification, cela va handicaper l'institution ", dit-on dans l'entourage de M. Michel.

Spiegel, Germany - Wolfowitz-Affäre - Weltbank wollte Klimawandel totschweigen

Neue Vorwürfe gegen Weltbank-Chef Wolfowitz: Einer seiner Vertrauten soll massiv in die Arbeit eines Wissenschaftlers eingegriffen haben. Im Umweltbericht der Weltbank sollten die Folgen des Klimawandels heruntergespielt werden.

Washington - Die Vorwürfe richten sich gegen einen der beiden Stellvertreter Paul Wolfowitz', Juan José Daboub. Er soll versucht haben, in einem der wichtigsten Umweltberichte der Weltbank die Aussagen über den Klimawandel zu verwässern. Das sagte der oberste Wissenschaftler der Weltbank, Robert Watson, der "Financial Times".

Daboub, früher konservativer Finanzminister von El Salvador, ist von Wolfowitz zur Weltbank geholt worden. Er steht bereits in der Kritik, weil er in die Strategie der Bank zur Familienplanung in Madagaskar eingegriffen haben soll.

Ekstrabladet, Denmark - Danish dollars to corruption

Denmark is involved in the sex and corruption scandal which is developing around World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. 12 millions of Danish taxpayers money ($2 million) are stranded in an international foundation with the ambitious name 'Foundation for the future' which has as its commendable aim to 'support independent CSO and democracy projects' in the Middle East and North Africa. In reality, we are talking about a ghost office, which hasn't paid out a dime since the start up in 2005, has no telephone, no official address, and has only organized 4 meetings. The foundation is run by Paul Wolfowitz' girlfriend, Tunisian born Shaha Riza, who's also the only employee in the office.

Former senior staff call for Wolfowitz to Resign

Financial Times
World Bank letter Signators
April 22 2007

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

See Comments for full text of letter

News Round Up April 25: "biggest crisis in Bank history'', more on Daboub, family planning, and climate change

New York Times
Frustrations With Wolfowitz Boil Over at Meeting

At a meeting between Paul D. Wolfowitz and his top managers at the World Bank last week, Mr. Wolfowitz made an unusual confession. ''I understand that I've lost a lot of trust, and I want to build that trust back up,'' he said, according to people present.

But the beleaguered bank president was immediately confronted by one of his top deputies, who asserted that Mr. Wolfowitz was wrong to think that the furor over his leadership sprang only from his handling of the pay and promotion for his companion or from unease over his support of the Iraq war while at the Pentagon.

Graeme Wheeler, the bank's managing director, said at the meeting that the fight over whether Mr. Wolfowitz should stay on at the bank amounted to the ''the biggest crisis in its history.''

Financial Times
Deputy's woes stir World Bank turmoil

One of Paul Wolfowitz's two handpicked deputies, Juan José Daboub, tried to water down references to climate change in one of the World Bank's main environmental strategy papers, the bank's chief scientist has told the Financial Times.

Mr Daboub, a conservative former finance minister from El Salvador, was brought into the bank by Mr Wolfo-witz. He is already under fire for allegedly trying to take out references to family planning in the bank's Madagascar country assistance strategy and reduce its prominence in its new health sector strategy.

Wall Street Journal
Wolfowitz Tensions Affect World Bank Operations - Europeans Fight U.S.-Backed Move On Family Planning

Several European members of the World Bank revolted against a U.S.-backed proposal on the bank's family-planning policy, in a meeting yesterday that illuminated how tensions over embattled President Paul Wolfowitz and his appointees are spilling into the institution's functioning.

The family-planning issue has become a lightning rod amid increasing criticism inside and outside the bank over Mr. Wolfowitz's tenure.

The Washington Post
Wolfowitz's Well-Traveled Travails

It seems Wolfowitz's priority is to put the brakes on the uproar -- something known at the bank as "The Current Situation," or TCS for short. In a bank-wide e-mail yesterday, Wolfowitz urged everyone to avoid a rush to judgment in "the current situation" and asked "for your continued patience . . . while we wait for the Board's decision."

"Yesterday," he wrote, "I briefly met with VPs and Actings to update them on the current situation and how to move forward. . . . The Vice Presidents have been very candid with their feedback to me on the challenges facing the Bank and I appreciate this." You betcha.

Scandal threatens World Bank's role

Financial Times

Krishna Guha and Eoin Callan in Washington
April 23 2007

The independent agency charged with assessing the effectiveness of the World Bank has issued a searing indictment of Paul Wolfo-witz's leadership, warning that the situation at the bank risks causing "irreparable harm to worldwide efforts in poverty reduction and sustainable development".

In a formal statement seen by the Financial Times, which the bank's board will consider this week, the Independent Evaluation Group called for "swift changesin management and aconcerted effort to restore credibility".

Click here for full story

See Comments for IEG Statement

Sweetheart Deals Not Limited to Sweethearts

Financial Times, April 15, 2007 -- Two sources told the Financial Times that Xavier Coll, the bank's senior human resources officer, was not consulted over the terms and conditions offered to Robin Cleveland and Kevin Kellems, former Bush administration officials who Mr Wolfowitz brought with him to the bank.

Ms Cleveland and Mr Kellems were given salaries of about $250,000 (£126,000) net of tax – the same amount paid to the highest ranked career bank officials, who typically have 25 years of development experience

World Bank policy is that the president has the authority to make an appointment at any level, but it would be normal for the head of HR to be consulted over the terms of such appointments, two sources told the FT. It is understood that mid-ranking HR officials were consulted over the appointments.

The FT's revelations are potentially damaging because they suggest that irregular processes over appointments under Mr Wolfowitz were not limited to his personal involvement in the Riza affair.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e7fea16e-eb81-11db-b290-000b5df10621.html

International Herald Tribune editorial calls for Wolfowitz resignation

The International Herald Tribune today joined the growing chorus calling for Wolfowitz to go when its editorial page asked:

"What might Wolfowitz himself say if he discovered that a government receiving World Bank loans was making similar sweet arrangements for the personal friends of its president?"

The IHT joins The Financial Times, Le Monde, Pakistan's Daily Times, Turkish Daily News, Kenya's Sunday Nation, Jamaica Gleaner, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Star-Ledger, Sunday Herald, and Investor's Business Daily in calling for his resignation.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/15/opinion/edwolf.php