Wolfowitz seeks deal to resign

His girlfriend, a bank employee, received excessive raises.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is negotiating an agreement to resign, according to an official familiar with the talks.
His departure would include an acknowledgment from the bank that he doesn't bear sole responsibility for the controversy surrounding a generous pay package for his girlfriend, the official said.
The negotiations took place as the bank's board deliberated Wolfowitz's fate Wednesday afternoon.
The official said Wolfowitz wanted the bank to accept some responsibility for conflicts of interest cited against him by a special bank panel. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicate state of negotiations at the bank, which uses loans and grants to fight poverty around the world.
Pressure on Wolfowitz to resign has grown since the bank panel report, released Monday, regarding his handling of the 2005 pay package of bank employee Shaha Riza.
Details
The bank panel said the board must consider whether Wolfowitz "will be able to provide the leadership" to ensure that the bank achieves its mission of fighting poverty around the world.
The 185-nation World Bank provides more than 20 billion a year for projects -- such as building dams and roads, bolstering education and fighting disease. It was created in 1945 to rebuild Europe after World War II and has evolved into a major development organization.
Before taking over the bank nearly two years ago, Wolfowitz was the No. 2 official at the Pentagon and played a lead role in mapping out the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Riza worked for the bank before Wolfowitz took over as president in June 2005. She was moved to the State Department to avoid a conflict of interest, but stayed on the bank's payroll. Her salary went from close to 133,000 to 180,000. With subsequent raises, it eventually rose to 193,590.
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