Wolfowitz hanging on by his nails: A View From the Other Side of the Atlantic - by Michael Goldfarb
From this side of the Atlantic it is abundantly clear. Six years into the most disastrous presidency in modern American history, the political class in Washington - first through fourth estates - still don't get it. They can no longer operate imperiously in a vacuum sealed tight by America's unrivaled power.
Their wish is no longer the world's command. The Wolfowitz saga proves as much. Don't be fooled by the well-orchestrated fight-back that has played out on the opinion pages of the big American newspapers over the last month and this week on the BBC's airwaves. The "Save Wolfie So He Can Save the World" campaign is organized by an odd combination of the usual right-wing sources and people who should know better. The right-wing sources say the pressure on Wolfowitz is a dastardly plot by those weak-kneed Europeans who have never forgiven Wolfie for his role in planning the Iraq War. The people who should know better, like former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young, pay homage to the caring Wolfowitz they have come to know in the field.
But no matter what the apologists say, the hot-air inflating the scandal and the pressure for Wolfowitz to resign are not about payback for Iraq. It is about something they - the Washington crowd - just don't get. You can't preach anti-corruption and be seen not to practice what you preach.
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