Wolfowitz: Turning World Bank into The Office

Paul Wolfowitz is turning the World Bank into The Office.

As we've learned in the last week, he's the kind of boss who makes it impossible for any work to get done. And while that can be painfully funny to watch on television, it's a tragedy at the World Bank -- the top global institution charge with fighting poverty.

Avaaz.org -- Avaaz means "voice" in a number of Asian and Middle Eastern languages -- works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decisions. Our members want Wolfowitz out; 40,000 of them, from 189 countries, have signed our "fire Wolfowitz" petition. And now Avaaz and Phil de Vellis, whose expertise in new media and people-powered content are a perfect match for Avaaz's mission, have launched "The Bank" to drive the point home.

The Office is a global phenomenon, with hit editions in the UK, the US, Germany, France, and French Canada. Everyone everywhere knows what it's like to have the wrong person in charge. And Paul Wolfowitz, through a mix of ideology, rigidity, self-righteousness, and, we now know, corruption and hypocrisy, is a classic nightmare boss.

We wouldn't trust him to run a paper company. But because of his relationship with Bush, cemented by his unforgivable work on the Iraq war, Wolfowitz is running an institution that makes life-or-death decisions affecting millions and even billions of people.

Maybe he could have redeemed himself at the Bank. It was a hopeful sign when he made the fight against corruption his central mission. But now his words have a savage irony:

"We cannot underestimate the impact of corruption. It benefits the privileged and it deprives the poor. It threatens the prospects for a better life, especially in developing countries. ...

I am committed to holding the Bank to the most rigorous standards. Our staff must maintain professionalism in their conduct and abide by rules and procedures. We will continue to guard against corruption and strengthen our efforts to root it out wherever we find it."

The World Bank Staff Association, editorial boards, and Wolfowitz's own deputy have called for him to step down. The outpouring of global public opinion must be heeded as well.

The fight against world poverty is too important to allow Wolfowitz to turn the Bank into a joke.

Ben Wikler and Phil de Vellis