Puppetmaster Soros – Wolfowitz & The World Bank

And the corruption rolls on and on and on.  The World Bank appears ready to oust Mr. Wolfowitz from his position as President on a charge that sounds quite similar to the chumped up charges leveled against Col. Shaffer of Able Danger fame.  What’s interesting behind all this is that one of the main players behind the curtain is one George Soros and Mallach Brown. 

We all know who Soros is, but you may have forgotten about Brown. 

Mr. Malloch Brown, remember, was until last year Kofi Annan’s deputy at the United Nations. In that position, he distinguished himself by spinning away the $100 billion Oil for Food scandal as little more than a blip in the U.N.’s good work, and one that had little to do with Mr. Annan himself. Last week, Mr. Malloch Brown was named vice president of the Quantum Fund, the hedge fund run by his billionaire friend George Soros. A former World Bank official himself and ally of soon-to-be British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Mr. Malloch Brown would almost surely be a leading candidate to replace Mr. Wolfowitz should he step down. Not surprisingly, Gordon Brown cold-shouldered Mr. Wolfowitz at a recent meeting in Brussels.

The bank presidency would be a neat coup for Sir Mark, and not just because the post has heretofore gone to an American. He also stands for everything Mr. Wolfowitz opposes, beginning with the issue of corruption. Consider Mr. Malloch Brown’s defense of the U.N.’s procurement practices.

“Not a penny was lost from the organization,” he insisted last year, following an audit of the U.N.’s peacekeeping procurement by its Office of Internal Oversight Services. In fact, the office found that $7 million had been lost from overpayment; $50 million worth of contracts showed indications of bid rigging; $61 million had bypassed U.N. rules; $82 million had been lost to mismanagement; and $110 million had “insufficient” justification. That’s $310 million out of a budget of $1.6 billion, and who knows what the auditors missed.

Mr. Malloch Brown also made curious use of English by insisting that Paul Volcker’s investigation into Oil for Food had “fully exonerated” Mr. Annan. In fact, Mr. Volcker’s report made an “adverse finding” against the then-Secretary-General. Among other details, the final report noted that Mr. Annan was “aware of [Saddam’s] kickback scheme at least as early as February 2001,” yet never reported it to the U.N. Security Council, much less the public, a clear breach of his fiduciary responsibilities as the U.N.’s chief administrative officer. Mr. Malloch Brown described the idea that Mr. Annan might resign as “inappropriate political assassination"–a standard he apparently doesn’t apply to political enemies like Mr. Wolfowitz.

Mr. Malloch Brown never made any serious attempt to reform the U.N. beyond the cosmetic, while doing everything he could to block the real reforms proposed by Americans Christopher Burnham and former Ambassador John Bolton. He was, however, energetic when it came to lecturing Americans about what they owed the U.N., such as joining the “reformed” Human Rights Council (whose only achievement to date has been to castigate Israel), pursuing a “new multilateral national security,” and otherwise empowering the likes of Mr. Malloch Brown, his multilateral mates and their tax-free salaries.

Views like these help explain why Mr. Malloch Brown is in such favor with Mr. Soros, who has publicly suggested the U.S. will need a “de-Nazification” program to erase the taint of the Bush Administration. So close are the two that Mr. Malloch Brown lives in a suburban New York home owned by Mr. Soros. Mr. Malloch Brown says he pays market rent, though reporting by the New York Sun’s Benny Avni disputes that. In any case, it’s safe to assume that Mr. Soros’s widely published views are close to Mr. Malloch Brown’s somewhat more guarded ones.

And then we have the coup de grâce.  The fact that within days of a letter from China warning the World Bank that if they didn’t stop coming down hard on corruption they were gonna take their money elsewhere Mr. Wolfowitz found himself answering silly charges about how much he paid in salary to his girlfriend.  Coincidence?  Come on:

But [despite more competition from private banks] the bank has had one competitive advantage that no private-sector Western lender can match — a willingness to lend large sums to corrupt Third World administrations with few governance strings attached. Wolfowitz’ arrival in 2005, and the anti-corruption measures he has brought in, have jeopardized that advantage big time, as seen in a chilling memo the bank received on March 12 of this year.

The e-mail memo, entitled "Sanctions Reform Roll-Out in EAP [East Asia and Pacific Region] — Your Feedback Needed," was from the manager of the bank’s operation in China, Hsiao-Yun Elaine Sun, to James Adams, vice-president for East Asia and Pacific Region. It warned that the bank could lose its second-largest customer, the Chinese government, if it insisted on carrying through with its intention to hold borrowing countries to account for World Bank monies that were used inappropriately.

China’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) "is very concerned about the implementation. They foresee potential disagreements as to the scope, level, and approach of the bank’s involvement on specific cases. Our MOF counterpart is so worried and is considering to suspend the lending program discussions next year in order to avoid getting into a confrontational situation with the bank."

Losing a large borrower like China, which has some US$21-billion in outstanding loans and credits with the bank, and accounts for close to 10% of the bank’s total portfolio, would lead to significant staff layoffs. Moreover, at least three other countries — India, Mexico and Indonesia –have also expressed alarm at the bank’s anti-corruption program, which would make their officials subject to investigation and exposure. These four countries alone, ranked first, second, third and fifth in size among bank customers, account for 30% of all World Bank business.

So Wolfowitz comes in and starts to hold countries accountable, which pisses many people off, which causes China to warn the Bank that it better stop after which Wolfowitz is thrown to the wolves.  Sound about right?  Oh, and don’t forget Mr. "I Don’t See No Stinkin Corruption" Brown and his best pal George Soros.

But nary a peep from our MSM about this story.  I mean it’s got it all doesn’t it?  Intrigue and corruption.  But the fall guy is a Bush pal so the MSM puts the blinders on.

So look out all, George Soros will pulling the strings at the World Bank soon.  Puppetmaster Soros…..the name fits.

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