Bush's recent appointment of Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank has much of Europe in a tizzy. From what I've read, much of the tizzy stems from Bush's failure to "consult with" (translate: buckle under to) the European shareholders of the bank. Those shareholders are very much in the minority, by the way...not that that matters to the liberal Europhiles over here who are having a sympathy tizzy with the Europeans. Roger Simon nicely tears holes in the tizzy's foundations, and raises some questions of his own. An excerpt:
You would think a Jewish and an Arab intellectual (both quite adult) being romantically involved would be applauded by "progressive" Europe, but I guess not. So what is the reason for their WDS -- Wolfowitz Derangement Syndrome -- other than the usual envy expressed by the ever-bilious British pol Clare Short who is quoted in the same article as saying on their TV: "America is going to do what it likes or hard cheese."
Another article in the Financial Times reports that some Europeans and "development economists" were concerned that Wolfowitz was "ill-suited" for the post, apparently because he wasn't properly educated in their specialty, as if development economics were particle physics or open-heart surgery. It's hard to take that seriously, considering the deputy defense secretary is easily one of the brainiest government officials on either side of the pond.
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