US Jews must protect Wolfowitz because the allegations against him are baseless and Germany’s motives in pushing these allegations are suspect. Meanwhile, President Bush wants to purge his administration of anti-Iran policy makers. As his legacy, Bush wants to make a strategic partnership with Iran’s Nazi President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Firing Paul Wolfowitz is the down payment on Bush's strategic partnership with Iran.
First, the charges against Wolfowitz are baseless. If not, why the rush to judgment? Why a 600 page report? This is a snow job, not a report. Most likely, the World Bank’s ethics regulations are contradictory and confusing. Besides, you can be sure that Wolfowitz, as a seasoned bureaucrat, would be sure to jump through all the bureaucratic hoops in arranging for the promotion and transfer of his friend.
In other words, Wolfowitz is most likely innocent, like Captain Dreyfus in late 19th century France, who was falsely accused of treason.
Second, Germany’s motives in pushing these allegations against Wolfowitz are suspect. Reverting to form, Germany is hounding the Jews in order to take political power. Germany wants to assume command at the World Bank and is using the Wolfowitz controversy as a pretext.
Third, President Bush is going along with Germany because he wants an Executive Branch purge anti-Iran policymakers as part of Bush's strategic partnership with Iran. Bush also wants Wolfowitz to be the scapegoat Bush’s failures in Iraq. By purging Wolfowitz from the administration, Bush hopes he will find smoother sailing in dealing with Congress on Iraq-related issues.
To put it another way, Bush thinks that he is Nixon, Ahmadinejad is Mao, and that the US and Iran will cooperate, as the US and China did in the 1970’s. The Iran-US strategic partnership will be Bush’s legacy, and the penultimate rationale for all of the carnage in Iraq brought about by Bush’s policies.
The problem with this picture is that Ahmadinjad is not interested in a strategic partnership with the US. Iran already has Germany. Iran does not need the US. Moreover, Ahmadinejad is not a Mao; he is a Hitler, and the US cannot do business with Hitler.
What can US Jews do on behalf of Paul Wolfowitz? First, they can insist on a fair World Bank hearing for Wolfowitz, with no rush to judgment. The World Bank is now discussing a final decision on Wolfowitz’s future by this coming Wednesday. This is absurd.
Second, US Jews should make Germany pay for hounding Wolfowitz and helping advance Ahmadiejad’s agenda. They can ask Germany to clarify the issue of whether Germany would issue a visa for Ahmadinejad after he has violated German law by denying he Holocaust. All of us, not just the Jews, would like to know.
Third, US Jews should protect US national security by insisting that President Bush clarify his policies on Germany and Iran. Bush, by picking Germany and Iran as strategic partners, may have picked the wrong side, the losing side, in the Middle East.
In conclusion, if Wolfowitz is purged from the World Bank, US Jews -- again in the interests of US national security -- should insist that President Bush appoint Wolfowitz as Special Envoy to Iraq and the Middle East, with his first task one of brokering an agreement on the future of Kirkuk and the Kurds with Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. Wolfowitz would be perfect for the job, and his appointment would signal Germany and Iran that the US is still looking after its own interests.