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Sridhar Krishnaswami

Mr Paul Wolfowitz is a proven leader and experienced diplomat who will guide the World Bank effectively honourably, Mr Bush said.

Washington , March 17

THE US President, George W. Bush, has nominated one of the administration's top hawks, Paul Wolfowitz, as the next President of the World Bank, a move that, many predict, will bring about a lot of uneasiness and a contentious public debate on the person to succeed James Wolfensohn who is stepping down this June.

"Paul Wolfowitz is a proven leader and experienced diplomat who will guide the World Bank effectively and honourably during a critical time in history — both for the Bank and the developing nations it supports," Mr Bush said in a Statement.

Traditionally the US chooses the head of the World Bank but the nominee must be approved by the Board of Directors who represent member countries. In the present context while Mr Wolfowitz is seen as a high-accomplished person intellectually, he is seen as having very little experience in economic or financial affairs. Further, an argument has been made that World Bank is about development and developmental imperatives, not about pushing freedom and democracy, as is the top agenda of this Republican administration.

The 61-year-old nominee who has been the Deputy Secretary of Defence since 2001 has been faulted for his thinking and role in the Iraq war with prominent Democrats accusing him of pushing the US into the war based on wrong or exaggerated claims of the kind of threat Saddam Hussein posed especially as it pertained to weapons of mass destruction.

Mr Wolfowitz has also come under some sharp criticism for his judgments on the post Iraq war scenario, first brushing aside the Army Chief of Staff Gen Eric Shinseki's assessment that it would take "several hundred thousand troops" to secure the occupation; and later maintaining that Iraq can finance its own reconstruction - tens of billions of American tax payers money has been pumped into the effort and still continuing.

In a broader sense, the nomination of Mr Wolfowitz, who is an acknowledged expert on international affairs, is seen by some as a deliberate decision on the part of Mr Bush to push for candidates in multilateral forums who will advance American foreign policy interests.

Not too long ago the President nominated John Bolton, a hawk who is a long time critic of the United Nations to be America's top envoy to the world body.

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