Fighting Poverty

NPR takes a look into Paul Wolfowitz's tenure at the World Bank. Tom Gjelten does a so-so job discussing Wolfowitz's "campaign" against corruption as head of the World Bank. Two big problems with this little NPR piece. First, Renee Montagne introduces the report as follows:

"When he was the Deputy Defense Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz was a leading advocate for the Iraq War. His enthusiasm for the cause made him an early target of opponents of that war. In 2005 President Bush named Wolfowitz as the US choice to head the World Bank, but fighting poverty can be almost as controversial as waging war."

Now that just killed me! His enthusiasm made him the target? How about his ignorant, venal, vicious arrogance and willingness to unleash "Shock and Awe" on the human beings of a non-threatening nation? And then to add the insult of saying Wolfowitz is "fighting poverty" and that fighting poverty is "controversial."

The second problem relates to the first. Gjelten never mentions that the World Bank is not universally considered a "poverty fighting" institution - and in fact is considered a key player in the neoliberal project of impoverishing the globe through structural readjustments.

For challenges to NPR's myopic view see this site from the Bank Information Center and this information from Global Issues. Wikipedia and Sourcewatch also have more balanced assessments.