Bang! Bush throws Wolfowitz off the sled.

[JackRiddler]

In his present predicament, the last thing the embattled architect of the crimes against humanity in Iraq and current manager of the scramble for Africa needed was an endorsement (read kiss of death) from his old boss...

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-04/14/content_5974346.htm

Bush affirms support for embattled World Bank chief
www.chinaview.cn 2007-04-14 04:15:09

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush affirmed his support on Friday for the World Bank president who is trapped in a scandal about personally dictating the terms of a promotion and pay raise for his lover.

"The president has full confidence in Paul Wolfowitz," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters at the daily briefing.

Wolfowitz has "apologized for the matter," Perino said. "We expect him to remain as World Bank president."

The scandal centers on Wolfowitz's lover, Shaha Riza, a World Bank staffer.

Recently released documents revealed that on Wolfowitz's personal direction, Riza was given raises that took her annual pay package to nearly 200,000 U.S, dollars when she was reassigned from the World Bank to the U.S. State Department in 2005.

Her pay increase was more than double the amount allowed by staff rules, according to the World Bank's Staff Association.

(...)

[Gabi Hayes]

1. "Thank God George Bush is President!" who said that?

he's one of my favorites

[Clark2008]

4. Wasn't that Rudy Patooti?

[Cirque du So-What]

2. Heckuva job you're doin' there, Wolfie! N/T

[bklyncowgirl]

5. Damn, beat me to it! nt

[Cirque du So-What]

10. GMTA, cowgirl! N/T

[JackRiddler]

3. "Eichmann has apologized for the matter." So what's the problem?

(Just doing a preventive application of Godwin's law.)

[eppur_se_muova]

6. "The president has full confidence..." cut to Wolfie: NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

I mean, those are the deadly words, aren't they?

[sarge43]

12. Yup. The big wet sloppy Kiss o' Death -- with tongue. n/t

[Cha]

7. Getting damn tired of all ya'll bushits

having to APOLOGIZE ALL THE TIME.. 24/7/365.

[Gabi Hayes]

8. tax free, as well, according to NPR..... do all those f******' salaries

come tax free, as well?

what a deal

[phillysuse]

9. Heck of a job, Wolfie

The kiss of death

[MoonRiver]

11. But, but...

is he under the bus yet? :shrug:

[Aussie leftie]

13. The fact that Wolfowitz was caught out did not surprise me.

The part that did surprise me though was the fact that he actually has a girlfriend. Fancy waking up in the morning and finding that in bed next to you.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

18. I know - Wolfie probably doesn't even cut his toe nails

and we also know he uses saliva as a hair conditioner. Look at the holes in his socks!

[Aussie leftie]

20. He's certainly a strange cat.

I suggest put him in uniform and make him fight in Iraq

[Vanje]

25. Looks like mohair/cashmere blend

Hell, I cant blame old Spittle-Comb. If I had a pair of mohair/cashmere blend socks, I'd weear them until they rotted off.
Those look like really nice socks!

[JackRiddler]

34. I don't know why you're picking on his most endearing quality...

Must admit I also don't always get to the shop for new socks in time...

[MissMarple]

14. Wolfowitz and his wife Clare separated in 2001. Interesting.

Also, this is an intersting quote. For an apparent softy, Wolfowitz is a scary guy.

"Tom Clancy has also been quoted on Deborah Norville Tonight as saying "Is he really on our side?" regarding Paul Wolfowitz. Clancy elaborated "I sat in on—I was in the Pentagon in ‘01 for a red team operation and he came in and briefed us. And after the brief, I just thought, is he really on our side? Sorry."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wolfowitz

[MissMarple]

15. erg...a double post, but here is some more stuff. This guy gets around. I am grossed out.

Totally.

"http://thinkprogress.org/2006/01/18/reagan-navy-secretary/Shaha Ali Riza, lately in the news as World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz’s Saudi-born girlfriend, has been assigned to the U.S. State Department. The move, which has not been announced by either huge agency controlled by the Bush regime, means that she’ll be working with Dick Cheney’s daughter Liz Cheney, a top official in the key Near East Affairs bureau.

How Quaint! Why does that name Riza ring a Bell?

Dr. Wolfowitz should clarify whether he used his position to coerce sex from women under his authority at SAIS. Dr. Wolfowitz should come clean and tell how many of his staffers, aides and employees he has had sex with and if he is still married.

Reports indicate that Dr. Clare Selgin Wolfowitz separated from Paul because he had an affair with a woman at Johns Hopkins University. Paul Wolfowitz was Dean and Professor of International Relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University. During that time he used his position to prey on woman under his authority When the scandal broke he and his wife Clare separated but appear not to have divorced. At this point it is unclear if the relationship with Shaha Ali Riza predates the scandalous affair at SAIS.

One may wonder if Wolfowitz has trouble keeping track of his women but I have it on good authority that he uses his protective detail of Federal Officers to manage his affairs and shuttle him from assignation to assignation. Indications are that the White House has been aware of this situation and has even had a letter from Dr. Clare Selgin Wolfowitz concerning the Security Implications of her husband’s womanizing. The only White House response to date was to nominate Wolfowitz for the World Bank because they know he could not make it through a Senate Conformation Hearing for any other job for which they could nominate him.
Dr. Clare Wolfowitz

The Ex-wife: Dr. Clare Wolfowitz
Picture from www.iris.umd.edu

The Ex-wife or the wife, Clare is not saying. If she divorced Wolfie the records cannot be found and she is refusing to answer. It appears that Paul Wolfowitz is a married man carrying on with multiple woman.
Shaha Ali Riza
The Girlfriend: Shaha Ali Riza
Public Domain Photo - www.worldbank.org
A primarily Saudi Arabian terrorist attack takes out the Twin Towers and hits the Pentagon. So what does Paul Wolfowitz recommend? Attack Iraq! There was no evidence to support war with Iraq so Dr. Wolfowitz and his Likud linked cabal in the Pentagon dummied up evidence. Why did Dr. Paul Wolfowitz sell out America and how was he influenced by his Arab girlfriend who spent much of her life living in Saudi Arabia.

Well BoY Howdy..Aint that lovely.."

And I'm counting this as five paragraphs. I really don't think the one liners count. I was always told it takes at least three sentences to make a paragraph. Please.

[Lasher]

21. The party of family values strikes again

Wiki says Paul divorced Clare in 2002 but I don't think that's right. Claire won't say.

Claire warned he couldn't be trusted on account of his relationship with Riza. She sure called that one right. And Riza is a proponent of regeime change in the mideast. She encouraged Paul to help lie us into the invasion of Iraq, as if he needed any encouragement.

In Bushworld you don't have to be competent to be appointed to a position of authority. You just have to be a crony as we have seen time and again.

[Hardrada]

16. I guess international relations is his forte!

I clicked on that World Bank link and saw his girlfriend but she looks like she is from Zaire rather than Saudi Arabia!

[MissMarple]

17. Is that her? She 's a Saudi. Not that I know all that much about Saudi Arabia.

:shrug:

[ellenfl]

22. that's not her. this is . . .

Shaha Riza

[MissMarple]

24. Thank you!

:hi:

[ellenfl]

35. you're welcome. i knew that was the wrong picture because i

had seen a picture of wolfie's paramour. i had to look it up when i first heard he had a mistress. yuch . . . i can't even imagine him with a wife let alone a wife AND a mistress!

ellen fl

[eleny]

19. "Full confidence"? Oh god no!!!!

[gordianot]

23. Can anyone imagine what action would lose support of George Bush?

I guess it would be fair to assume that action is not following orders.

[sarge43]

27. Disloyalty, ie a sudden speaking acquaintance with ethics. n/t

[The Count]

26. "has apologized?" Al rightey then - we believe in forgivemess here on DU, non?

Maybe a little rehab is in order, but other than that....

[JackRiddler]

30. please...

no hidden Imus references on this thread. Thank you.

[Buzz Clik]

28. If Wolfowitz had any moral fiber, he'd resign.

He hasn't resigned.

So fire him, George. Quit supporting thieves and liars, and fire him. Now.

[malaise]

29. Discussion coming up on Washington Journal in a while

He will be forced out if he does not resign. The WB Board and employees are pissed.

George only supports liars and thieves.

[JackRiddler]

31. George can't fire him...

That's up to the World Bank. (What George or his successors could do is de-fund the bank itself, an instrument of empire and an awesome 50-year failure by its own ostensible standards of serving sustainable economic development in the third world.)

As for the Wolf, if he had any moral fiber, he wouldn't be the Wolf and wouldn't have had the same career. It's too bad he's getting it for routinely corrupt favors to his girlfriend, instead of being alongside Bush and Cheney in a Nuremberg tribunal on trial for waging aggressive war, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

[Buzz Clik]

32. Hm. My ignorance. Thanks.

But I thought George appointed him... no?

[JackRiddler]

33. Basically yes.

By convention the US government puts forward an American candidate for the World Bank and the shareholders (participating governments of the rich states) rubber-stamp him.

With the IMF, the EU puts forward a European and ditto.

In either case, it's the shareholders (25 percent US, I believe) who officially make the call.

ON EDIT: That both sit in Washington DC should tell you a lot about their actual function.