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Did Wolfowitz's cheating on his wife break up their marriage
and is he still cheating?
By Jackson Thoreau
www.OpEdNews.com
Ah, the hypocrisy in these Republicans just keeps bubbling over.
Washington, D.C., is buzzing over Jewish neocon and Iraq invasion
proponent Paul Wolfowitz's "personal relationship" with Shaha Ali
Riza, an Arab Muslim and the acting manager for external relations
and outreach for the Middle East and North Africa region at the very
World Bank that Bush nominated "Wolfie" to lead.
For one, it's unclear whether Wolfie is actually divorced from Clare
Selgin Wolfowitz, the mother of his three kids, whom he married in
1968. The Washington Post claims he is divorced, but several
reporters, including yours truly and some British ones, have not
been able to unearth any divorce papers.
The London Mail on Sunday reported that Selgin refused to "confirm
her marital status - reports of his appointment repeatedly describe
Wolfowitz as divorced but The Mail on Sunday has been unable to find
any records. Asked if she is separated or divorced, Clare replied:
'That's my business.'" [see
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=342048&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=&ct=5]
The Mail adds this juicy tidbit: "They have lived separately since
2001, after allegations of an affair with an employee at the School
of Advanced International Studies where [Wolfowitz] was dean for
seven years. According to one Republican administration insider,
Clare was so upset by rumors about the affair that she wrote to then
President Elect Bush, saying if the story were true it could pose a
national security risk."
There is also this report at http://www.sw-asia.com/People/Bio976.htm
from consultant Barry O'Connell, a former Republican and present
conservative Democrat:
"Reports indicate that Dr. Clare Selgin Wolfowitz separated from
Paul because he had an affair with a woman at Johns Hopkins
University.
Paul Wolfowitz was Dean and Professor of International Relations at
the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of
The Johns Hopkins University. During that time he used his position
to prey on woman under his authority. When the scandal broke, he and
his wife Clare separated but appear not to have divorced. At this
point it is unclear if the relationship with Shaha Ali Riza predates
the scandalous affair at SAIS. One may wonder if Wolfowitz has
trouble keeping track of his women, but I have it on good authority
that he uses his protective detail of federal officers to manage his
affairs and shuttle him from assignation to assignation."
Wolfowitz's Pentagon spokesman has even acknowledged the personal
relationship, releasing a statement quoting Wolfie as saying, "If a
personal relationship presents a potential conflict of interest, I
will comply with bank policies to resolve the issue."
The Washington Post also reported at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55423-2005Mar21.html
that "Wolfowitz regularly spends the night at Riza's home. Two
residents told us that Wolfowitz's guards wait in a car outside
until he departs early in the morning. "
Since "morality" is such a key issue among Republicans these days, I
think we have a right to ask Wolfie whether he is still technically
married to his wife when he is spending the night at Riza's home. We
have a right to ask Wolfie whether he is really having an
extramarital affair now, and whether he had one years ago that led
to his marriage's separation.
We have a right to ask Wolfie, Bush and other Republicans how such
alleged affairs square with their party's morality stance. We have a
right to ask Americans who voted for these clowns why they support
such hypocrisy.
Remember how many millions of tax dollars Republicans spent to dig
into Bill Clinton's private life? We at least should be able to ask
questions about Republicans' private lives, especially when they're
shoving a "holier than thou" attitude in our faces, should we not?
Jackson Thoreau is a Washington, D.C.-area journalist/writer. The
latest book to which he contributed, Big Bush Lies, was published by
RiverWood Books of Ashland, Ore., and is available at bookstores
across the country. He can be contacted at jacksonthor@yahoo.com or
jacksonthor@gmail.com.
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