A Thief for President

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   Paul Wolfowitz is widely acknowledged to be the arch hawk in the gang of thieves referred to as the Neocons. So why has he been confirmed as the head of an international organisation whose raison d��tre is to help the poorer and weaker regions of the world? Many would argue that his position as president of the World Bank is a highly inappropriate appointment. It may be perceived that under Wolfowitz the World Bank will work for American interests and not for the good of the world. 

It is true that Wolfowitz is an ultra conservative, ultra nationalist, and American supremacist. It is for exactly these reasons that his heading of such an organisation is completely compatible with the basic philosophy of this body. He follows in a well-trodden supremacist path. Roosevelt and Truman forged the post-war world order with the assistance of an array of newly formed international institutions. Pride of place in among these was The World Bank and its sister the International Monetary Fund. The US economist Harry Dexter White conceived the World Bank and the IMF. After conception the twins had a very easy and short gestation period. Their dad, Dexter White, as was appointed by the US Treasury to lead the negotiations on post-war economic reconstruction. He spent most of 1943 trying to convince the other allies of his policies. They were appalled by his proposals. He insisted that his institutions would place the burden of stabilising the world economy on the countries suffering from debt and trade deficits rather than on the creditors. He insisted that �the more money you put in, the more votes you have�. He decided, before the meeting at Bretton Woods in 1944, that �the US should have enough votes to block any decision�. 

The World Bank and the IMF matured into bodies that work mostly in poor countries, but are controlled by rich ones. Dexter White demanded that national debts be redeemable for gold, that gold be convertible into dollars, and that exchange rates be fixed against the dollar. The result was to lay the ground for what was to become the global hegemony of the Yankee dollar. White also decided that the IMF and the bank would be sited in Washington. 

At the time, few doubted that these bodies were designed as instruments of US economic policy. However through time this sentiment seems to have been forgotten. Proof of that is the fact that so many commentators have expressed such alarm at the mere suggestions of Wolfowitz for president. The only thing that is surprising about the affair is that so many are so surprised. 

It is not only the theory of how and why the World Bank came about, the practice of the Bank also outlines its real face. One only has to review the track record, particularly the reign of that other Pentagon hawk, Robert McNamara. He was the man who concentrated almost all the bank�s lending on vast prestige schemes such as highways, ports, and dams, while neglecting less glamorous issues such as health, education and sanitation. Most of the major projects he backed have, in economic or social terms or both, failed catastrophically. Dams, electricity and improved transport were often there for the indirect or direct interest of America. Electricity generated by dams could be used to run machinery and plants that would process or refine mined minerals such as bauxite to aluminium, in the case of Ghana. Alternatively the availability of electricity opens new markets for American consumer good. The improved communication routes help get natural resources out and trashy goods in at a high rate of knots. Airports and transportation routes were often unashamedly established away from the population centres. 

Do people really expect a Mother-Theresa type figure to run the World Bank? A personality like Wolfowitz at the helm may stand as a reminder that this institution, which calls on the nations it bullies to exercise �good governance and democratisation� is run by a bunch of charlatans. The persona, the policies and the global vision of Wolfowitz make him probably the most appropriate president the Bank has ever had. 

Source:  KCom Journal

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Rehmat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group Joined: 28 February 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 474	Post Options Post Reply Quote Rehmat Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: A Thief for President Posted: 09 April 2005 at 4:18pm
	Paul Wolfowitz is widely acknowledged to be the arch hawk in the gang of thieves referred to as the Neocons. So why has he been confirmed as the head of an international organisation whose raison d��tre is to help the poorer and weaker regions of the world? Many would argue that his position as president of the World Bank is a highly inappropriate appointment. It may be perceived that under Wolfowitz the World Bank will work for American interests and not for the good of the world. It is true that Wolfowitz is an ultra conservative, ultra nationalist, and American supremacist. It is for exactly these reasons that his heading of such an organisation is completely compatible with the basic philosophy of this body. He follows in a well-trodden supremacist path. Roosevelt and Truman forged the post-war world order with the assistance of an array of newly formed international institutions. Pride of place in among these was The World Bank and its sister the International Monetary Fund. The US economist Harry Dexter White conceived the World Bank and the IMF. After conception the twins had a very easy and short gestation period. Their dad, Dexter White, as was appointed by the US Treasury to lead the negotiations on post-war economic reconstruction. He spent most of 1943 trying to convince the other allies of his policies. They were appalled by his proposals. He insisted that his institutions would place the burden of stabilising the world economy on the countries suffering from debt and trade deficits rather than on the creditors. He insisted that �the more money you put in, the more votes you have�. He decided, before the meeting at Bretton Woods in 1944, that �the US should have enough votes to block any decision�. The World Bank and the IMF matured into bodies that work mostly in poor countries, but are controlled by rich ones. Dexter White demanded that national debts be redeemable for gold, that gold be convertible into dollars, and that exchange rates be fixed against the dollar. The result was to lay the ground for what was to become the global hegemony of the Yankee dollar. White also decided that the IMF and the bank would be sited in Washington. At the time, few doubted that these bodies were designed as instruments of US economic policy. However through time this sentiment seems to have been forgotten. Proof of that is the fact that so many commentators have expressed such alarm at the mere suggestions of Wolfowitz for president. The only thing that is surprising about the affair is that so many are so surprised. It is not only the theory of how and why the World Bank came about, the practice of the Bank also outlines its real face. One only has to review the track record, particularly the reign of that other Pentagon hawk, Robert McNamara. He was the man who concentrated almost all the bank�s lending on vast prestige schemes such as highways, ports, and dams, while neglecting less glamorous issues such as health, education and sanitation. Most of the major projects he backed have, in economic or social terms or both, failed catastrophically. Dams, electricity and improved transport were often there for the indirect or direct interest of America. Electricity generated by dams could be used to run machinery and plants that would process or refine mined minerals such as bauxite to aluminium, in the case of Ghana. Alternatively the availability of electricity opens new markets for American consumer good. The improved communication routes help get natural resources out and trashy goods in at a high rate of knots. Airports and transportation routes were often unashamedly established away from the population centres. Do people really expect a Mother-Theresa type figure to run the World Bank? A personality like Wolfowitz at the helm may stand as a reminder that this institution, which calls on the nations it bullies to exercise �good governance and democratisation� is run by a bunch of charlatans. The persona, the policies and the global vision of Wolfowitz make him probably the most appropriate president the Bank has ever had. Source: KCom Journal
	Know your enemy! No time to waste. Act now! Tomorrow it will be too late What You Don�t Know Can Kill You

Whisper Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Male Joined: 25 July 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 4752	Post Options Post Reply Quote Whisper Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 07 June 2005 at 11:00pm
	Have you ever seen a hawk? If not handled one on your wrist? Hawk is one of the most beautiful and simply the most DIGNIFIED bird in the world. Let's not fall into the misnomers of spin and call these distorted psychos hawks. They look like and are actually vultures.