Page 2 of 3 Wolfowitz postings went to
war backers By Emad Mekay and Jim Lobe
member of the ruling right-wing
ARENA party in El Salvador and effectively ran the
country's economic policy from 1999 to 2004.
"He really was [then president Francisco]
Flores' right-hand man," said Roberto Rubio,
president of the Fundacion Nacional para
Desarrollo in San Salvador, "and, as such, pursued
the most orthodox economic policy in the country's
history, closely tied to
US
policies."
According to Rubio, he was also
a frequent visitor to Washington, where he founded
the Instituto America Libre to advocate free
market policies. At a conference in Washington in
2005, he called on Washington to "act more
aggressively on the problem of security that South
American populists represent to the United States
and to other Latin American countries that have
not fallen into leftist hands yet."
Palacio, an outspoken supporter of the US
invasion of Iraq, lost her position as foreign
minister after the 2004 defeat of Aznar's Partido
Popular in 2004. Before her appointment to the
bank, she repeatedly denounced the decision of
prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to
withdraw Spanish forces from Iraq and praised the
persistence of both George W Bush and Prime
Minister Tony Blair of Britain.
In an
interview with the neo-conservative American
Enterprise Institute's magazine, American
Enterprise, in late 2005, she accused Zapatero of
"plung[ing] Spain into Third World politics" by
allying it more closely with France and Germany
than with Britain and the US.
As Jordan's
ambassador in Washington before the Gulf War and
later as foreign minister, Muasher met with
then-deputy defense secretary Wolfowitz on at
least several occasions, according to the
Pentagon's web site.
Despite King Abdullah
II's public criticism of the war, Washington found
a "willing" - if behind-the-scenes - ally in
Muasher. While Jordan, like other Arab countries,
did not send troops to Iraq, it quietly provided
intelligence and other critical support for the US
before and during the war. It has also helped
train thousands of Iraqi security personnel and
tightened control of its borders to prevent the
infiltration of Sunni fighters after the war.
As deputy prime minister, Muashar was
charged with implementing the country's "reform"
agenda, a portfolio that required frequent contact
with US officials, including former deputy
assistant secretary of state for Near East and
South Asian Affairs Elizabeth Cheney, the daughter
of Vice President Dick Cheney, with whom Wolfowitz
was closely allied during Bush's first term.
Washington increased its aid to Jordan by
some US$300 million in 2003 to a total of $450
million. In 2006, it received $500 million split
between economic and military assistance.
Jordan's benefits from the war included
oil subsidies from Gulf States, substantial new US
aid, a booming real estate sector and a growing
Iraq-related trade and transport account - and,
apparently, the appointment of Muasher to the
World Bank's vice presidency.
"It's not at
all surprising given Wolfowitz's actions so far
within the bank and the Bush administration's
propensity to reward allies and cronies," said
Doug Hellinger, a veteran bank observer.
Wolfowitz's allies regroup Wolfowitz is receiving new support from
conservative politicians and right-wing
publications that previously backed his notorious
role as an architect of the war in Iraq, but
missing from the regrouping attempts are answers
to two important questions.
Why has
Wolfowitz given his girlfriend such a large pay
hike and favorable contract terms in spite of bank
rules? And why has his office and staff attempted
what appears to be a botched cover-up? So far no
explanations have been given.
Further, and
despite his own public admission of wrongdoing,
Wolfowitz's friends now say he has not done wrong
in the scandal over improper pay hikes to Riza.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty
spoke on Friday of a conversation he had with
Wolfowitz: "I am satisfied, based on what he told
me, that the process was followed."
The
Bush administration, too, continued to air its
support of Wolfowitz, despite the unprecedented
media attention to the scandal and the many
questions that remain unanswered.
Treasury
Secretary Hank Paulson described Wolfowitz as a
"dedicated public servant" and said he had "very
high regard" for him.
Earlier, White House
spokeswoman Dana Perino said that she expected
Wolfowitz to remain president of the World Bank,
one of the most important global economic
institutions.
Wolfowitz is Bush's
appointee. He served during Bush's first term in
office as deputy secretary of defense and is best
known as the ardent architect of the ill-fated US
invasion of Iraq.
Right-wing publications
that have previously backed Wolfowitz's crusade
promoting the war on Iraq have also come to his
aid, citing a new campaign he is leading.
David Frum, a fellow neo-conservative and
a former presidential
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