Hostility, support for Wolfowitz
LONDON, England -- The nomination of U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz to lead the World Bank has sparked reactions around the world ranging from official reserve to hostility, although there was some support.
Wolfowitz, who is considered one of the Bush administration's most hawkish figures and a leading advocate of the decision to go to war with Iraq, has been a target of critics at home and abroad.
U.S. President George W. Bush, who is trying to mend ties with European allies that opposed the Iraq war, called French President Jacques Chirac and other world leaders Wednesday to make the case that Wolfowitz would make a "strong" leader of the international agency.
The selection came on the heels of another Bush pick that has courted criticism: the nomination of John Bolton to be U.N. ambassador. (Full story)
Bolton, currently the U.S. State Department's arms control chief, has spoken dismissively of the United Nations in the past.
In outlining his nomination, which is subject to approval by the board of the 184-nation development bank, Bush said the 61-year-old Wolfowitz was "a compassionate, decent man who will do a fine job at the World Bank." (Full story)
Japan, a U.S. ally in the Iraq war, lent its backing to Bush's choice. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda lavished praise on Wolfowitz, saying: "He's a great person and he is well-versed in issues regarding development in Asia."
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw added that Wolfowitz was "very distinguished and experienced internationally. If his appointment is confirmed we look forward to working with him."
But French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier suggested other candidates could still be considered.
"It's a proposal. We shall examine it in context of the personality of the person you mention and perhaps in view of other candidates," he told Reuters.
By tradition, Washington selects the World Bank president, who serves a five-year term, while Europeans nominate the head of the International Monetary Fund.
Despite grumbling from some European officials, World Bank board sources indicated critics will have little success in blocking Bush's choice.
One of those most vocally opposed to Wolfowitz's nomination was U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's top poverty adviser.
"It's time for other candidates to come forward that have experience in development," professor Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, told the U.N. Economic and Social Council.
"This is a position on which hundreds of millions of people depend for their lives," AP quoted him as saying. "Let's have a proper leadership of professionalism." The United Nations had no comment.
'Noble mission'
Many development and anti-poverty groups were also critical. Dave Timms, spokesman for the London-based World Development Network, described the nomination as "terrifying."
"As well as lacking any relevant experience, he is a deeply divisive figure who is unlikely to move the bank toward a more pro-poor agenda," Patrick Watt, policy officer at British charity Action Aid, told AP.
In an interview with AP, Wolfowitz said he really believed in the mission of the World Bank, "which is reducing poverty."
"It is a noble mission and a matter of enlightened self-interest."
The nomination was the subject of much debate in Thursday's newspapers.
The Wall Street Journal commented: "Mr. Wolfowitz is willing to speak the truth to power. He saw earlier than most, and spoke publicly about, the need for dictators to plan democratic transitions.
"It is the world's dictators who are the chief causes of world poverty. If anyone can stand up to the Robert Mugabes of the world, it must be the man who stood up to Saddam Hussein."
The Financial Times was less upbeat. It likened Wolfowitz's nomination to that of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
It called the decision "the second shock this month to Europeans who thought Mr. Bush would present a kinder, gentler face to the world in his second term."
"Some non-governmental groups fear Mr. Wolfowitz will ... seek to enlist the bank in the larger project of building U.S. security by spreading democracy."
The FT's Foreign Affairs Editor Quentin Peel said he suspected Wolfowitz would get the nod because "Europe doesn't want to be in your face to Washington. But it's not going to be a helpful appointment."
One Nigerian newspaper columnist said Wolfowitz's reputation as a hard-liner made it hard to cheer his nomination. Pini Jason said it could a "bad omen" for the developing world.
"It is very likely that George Bush will want to link World Bank policies to his own vision of democratizing the world: democracy according to the White House," said Jason, who writes for The Vanguard newspaper.
Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi, agreed.
"The appointment is another provocation from the U.S. administration and the neo-conservatives to the Third World, especially the Arabs and Muslims."
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
