Wolfowitz joins think-tank, focuses on Africa

WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) Days after his departure from the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz has joined the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) as a visiting scholar, the conservative Washington-based think tank announced today.

The AEI said Wolfowitz will focus on development issues, particularly in Africa, and on public-private partnerships.

Wolfowitz, who was instrumental in the planning of the US invasion of Iraq when he was deputy defense secretary, resigned as president of the World Bank amid a scandal involving a high-paying promotion for his companion.

Before his June 30 departure from the World Bank, Wolfowitz said: ''I really have developed such strong feelings about the importance of Africa, the opportunity in Africa, and such enthusiasm for so many Africans that I've gotten to know that that's really where I'd like to focus for the next few years.'' The AEI has been home to leading advocates of the Iraq war including John Bolton, President George W Bush's former UN envoy, and Richard Perle, ex chairman of the Defense Policy Board at the Defense Department.

Reuters RKM DB2257