Scaring The Horses

There's a story about the British Army in World War II. Apparently, they were a bit pressed for artillery so they reconditioned some Boer War pieces. Fortunately, they still had the original operations manuals, but no one could work out why they were supposed to detail a gunner to stand at the side of the gun when it fired. It was only when they located one of the now ancient authors that they found out that the soldier was there to steady the horses.

I was reminded of this story when I heard about the latest round of Bush appointments. The genius of President Bush is that he can see what works in foreign policy and what is merely steadying long-gone horses. Take the appointment of Paul Wolfowitz to the World Bank. The Usual Suspects have been suitably enraged at Chimpy Von Halliburton's latest snub to the international communidee, but is the World Bank really such a great advert for the tranzi worldview ? As the Rottweiler Puppy points out, during its six decade existence, the World Bank has been about as much use as guy stroking a non-existent horse.

If actual alleviation of poverty is your thing, the World Bank is notso hotso. Say what you like about Wolfowitz, but he's no time-server. You'd think the Toyota Taliban would be happy about someone trying to spark some life into the World Bank.

No, just kidding. Our pondscum NGOs not only increasingly resemble the vast supranational bureaucracies, they also share the same cultural DNA. Poverty is a useful cover story, but the real objective remains what it always was: imposing the tranzi agenda. They oppose Wolfowitz not because he won't be effective, but because he might be. Either Wolfowitz helps make the World Bank an effective tool against poverty, neatly debunking everything the tranzis have ever said about poverty, or the tranzis immobilise him, thereby exposing their own agenda and proving how irredeemable the whole mess is. Whatever happens, it'll be a win for the US and a defeat for the tranzis.

But at least the L3 can keep on reassuring each other that Dubya is a moron.