Why does the Wolfowitz affair matter? It matters because this appears to be another pointless instance of European perifidity and the appropriating of an international institution for national political considerations. Could you disagree with Wolfowitz's plans for the WB? Sure, but nothing Wolfie has done or planned to do legitimizies this putsch.

I have not seen the documents that the WSJ refers to and until then I will restrain judgement; however, if the WSJ is correct this is a provocation of the first order. I would expect bureaucratic rather than party-based responses. However if Hiliary or Thompson gain the Presidency that might change. The Americans forced the Brits to dismantle the Empire when they decided that it was incompatible with their world vision. If European politicians in international institutions keep throwing spanner after spanner into the works, American foreign policy will be forced to re-evaluate the advisability of the political culture that created them. In the last 7 years, the greatest American foreign policy defeats/humiliations have come at the hands of Europeans, not the ChiComs or Russians. People will and some already have assigned blame to the European project. American support for the European project was predicated on the working assumption that relations would be expedited, more transparent and predictable. The opposite has happened. Politicans are playing on three levels: national, EU level and internationally. They also have the ability to justify or defend their actions by appealing to their detractors on any of the three levels. Its the German Parliament of the 1850s.

Dont be surprised if the Saudis "unilaterally" set up a legal fund for persecuted European muslims or the diplomatic impetus for the trans Caucus pipeline dries up.