Thursday, April 12, 2007

Paul Wolfowitz's tenure at World Bank ending in under 72 hours?



Is Paul Wolfowitz about to render his resignation? This is what Steve Clemons seems to think after talking to a few Senior executives at the World Bank. Moreover, Clemons reveals details at a Washington Restaurant between Wolfowitz and a very "senior reporter."

" ... I now know from a second source -- as my first would only discuss this
matter firmly off the record -- that Wolfowitz and Kevin Kellems had dinner at
the Aquarelle Restaurant at the Watergate Hotel last year with a very prominent
member of Washington's journalistic community.

The journalist in question had not met Wolfowitz previously and
Kellems played a "relationship-brokering" role. What is interesting about this
particular meeting -- as far as I understand the details of it -- is that the
journalist in question, who I cannot name but can attest for his solid
reputation as a serious writer, assumed that the topic of discussion at dinner
would be Wolfowitz's global economic development agenda, his view of how to make
the World Bank relevant to 21st century security and economic challenges, and so on.

Instead, Wolfowitz -- as recently as one year ago -- was still
manically obsessed with the connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda.
Wolfowitz reportedly brought with him to dinner an enormous binder of materials,
articles, essays, reports, intelligence, etc. -- arguing that the connection
between Hussein and bin Laden's operation was real and robust.

I can't report on the journalist's reaction to the dinner --
other than to say he was "surprised."

You might be tempted to ask: what does the "resignation" of this heralded neocon, this protege of the Albert & Roberta Wohlsteter, the man who "fought" nepotism to a draw, have to do with a Middle Eastern blog? Well in the words of Saladin (actually, actor Ghassan Mansour in Kingdom of Heaven) "...Nothing ... and EVERYTHING!"

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

72HRS!! That's too long.
Friday-lunch-club is one good blogspot.