Well, it is mixed reviews on Robert "Bob" Zoellick who was named by President Bush to replace the soon-to-be-departed Paul Wolfowitz. As expected, President Bush picked a person who has his trust.
According to James Baker who has worked closely with Zoellick, "He's an outstanding choice. What he brings to the bank is an ability to get things done, an ability to work with people and an excellent reputation among foreign policy types across the world ... something we badly need," Baker acknowledged that Zoellick does not have extensive development experience, but said he was a pragmatist who "knows how to build coalitions and achieve consensus" -- crucial at a large bureaucratic organization like the World Bank.
Barney Franks, chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee said "The second, high-ranking George W. Bush administration foreign policy, national security official in a row, I think is a mistake."
According to Reuters:
Zoellick was one of 18 mostly conservative figures, including former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, who wrote a much publicized letter to former President Bill Clinton in 1998 advocating removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.
Soon after that he was chosen as a member of the "Vulcans" -- [The Vulcans included Richard Armitage, Robert Blackwill, Stephen Hadley, Richard Perle, Dov Zakheim, Robert Zoellick and Paul Wolfowitz], mostly from President Bush's father's administration -- brought together under Rice to advise candidate George W. Bush on foreign policy before his 2000 presidential election.
Bush made the final decision on Zoellick over the weekend, said the senior U.S. official. Asked whether the World Bank board would approve of Zoellick, the official said, "We have every confidence in that."
Update May 31: See this Alternet article for more on th Vulcanic Zoellick.
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