Wolfowitz squeezed out. posted by Richard Seymour

When Wolfowitz was appointed World Bank chief, it neatly dramatised the relationship between global economic policy and US imperialism. He retained the loyalty of a pile of the usual bitter old stools, including people like Nick Cohen, who defended Wolfowitz's harsh policies as a legitimate anti-corruption drive, despite the Wolf's gangsterish determination from the start to milk the role for all it was worth. His forced resignation, after revelations of corruption on his part, follows a lengthy battle between the World Bank and the White House. Warring brothers, my petals, the ruling class are a band of warring brothers. However, they have ensured that Wolfowitz's absurd cover story was accepted as the official line, because after all:

"If they fuck me or Shaha, I have enough on them to fuck them too."

And you can be sure that his White House allies would have shovelled some useful resources and info his way. It now turns out that the leading candidates for replacing him are Jim Leach, a multi-millionaire former Republican congressman who happens to be to the left of many Democrats (doesn't say much) and prefers multilateral imperialism; and Robert Zoellick, another multi-millionaire, formerly Republican Deputy Secretary of State and now senior director at Goldman Sachs, and an early supporter of the Project for a New American Century. However, it's also been mentioned that Blair might be nominated for the role. Highly unlikely, I suspect - as much as Blair is adored by the Anglo-American ruling class for his slavish devotion to the 'special relationship', he is probably too much of an airhead to be handling the money. He's more of an international male model these days: better put him in charge of an institute promoting capitalism's alleged humanitarianism, multiculturalist ethic, commitment to decency, dynamism and tolerance, something like that - but not the dough. It'd be like putting Miss America in charge: "if I'm made Miss World Bank, I wanna help the poor, and cure disease, and root out evil, and bring about world peace..."

Labels: capitalism, gangland punk, US imperialism, wolfowitz, world bank