WASHINGTON, Dec 12: His role in the Iraq war and the practice of appointing cronies from the Republican Party to senior positions is catching up with World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz who faces an unprecedented rebellion inside his own office.

On Sunday, Mr Wolfowitz, former US deputy defence secretary, was heckled at a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, where protesters called him a “liar” and a “war criminal”.

On Monday, news outlets across the United States flashed stories of a rebellion inside the World Bank headquarters close to the White House where Mr Wolfowitz, an architect of President George W. Bush’s failed Iraq strategy, attended many meetings while planning the 2003 invasion of the Arab state.

Reports said that the bank’s directors were upset with Mr Wolfowitz for appointing people with political connections but little experience in their relevant fields.

Mr Wolfowitz’s policies, reports said, were driving away seasoned managers.

The World Bank media office, when asked for comments, promised to call back but never did. “I will not be able to get you comments immediately. I will have to work with my colleagues,” Amy L. Stilwell, the bank’s media manager told Dawn. Media reports claimed that half of the bank's 29 highest-level executives have left since Mr Wolfowitz took office in June last year. Among them is Christiaan Poortman, vice-president for the Middle East and a 30-year veteran, who left in September after resisting pressure to speed up lending and adding staff in Iraq.

"It was very sad to see someone of Mr Poortman's calibre leaving," Eckhard Deutscher, one of 24 executive directors of the World Bank, told the Bloomberg news agency. "The bank needs to be very careful not to lose too much of its human capital."

Media reports said that the exodus is damaging the World Bank, which provided $23.6 billion last year for projects across the world.

The people Mr Wolfowitz brought to the bank include Robin Cleveland, who as associate director of the White House Office of Management and Budget helped secure congressional funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is now counsellor to the bank’s president.

Kevin Kellems, a former spokesman for Vice-President Dick Cheney, was named director of external strategy. Suzanne Rich Folsom, who joined in 2003 and is the bank's chief anti-corruption executive, is married to George Folsom, who was principal deputy director of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office and president of the International Republican Institute.

Mr Wolfowitz "has placed considerably more trust in a small group of outsiders from the Republican Party than in the seasoned experts in the bank", said Alison Cave, head of the World Bank staff association.

On Sunday in Atlanta, the 62-year old World Bank president confronted protesters who blamed him for misleading the American public during the run-up to the war.

Mr Wolfowitz was at Atlanta’s Ahavath Achim Synagogue to speak about the relevance of Africa for Americans.

At one point a man stood up silently at the front of the audience wearing an orange jumpsuit, seen by protesters as symbolic of clothes worn by prisoners at the US jail at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"You lied about the Iraq war! You are a war criminal!" shouted another woman as she was escorted from the synagogue.

Outside around 20 protesters held up signs condemning Mr Wolfowitz and the war.

Police escorted the protesters out of the synagogue. They were told they would be arrested if they returned.

Later, during questions, Mr Wolfowitz defended the Bush administration’s decision to go to war. "When it comes to Iraq I think it is fair and accurate to say that we did not go to war for oil," he said.

"The essential concern is to make difficult decisions about the security of the United States and that's what they did," he said.

Mr Wolfowitz said the World Bank is advising Baghdad on how to distribute its oil wealth.

"The biggest question that Iraq faces in many ways is ... policy decisions about public resource management," he said.

Democrats, who will control Congress starting in January, have promised to conduct vigorous reviews of US policy on Iraq, including post-war reconstruction and stabilization.

Mr Wolfowitz, who was appointed president of the World Bank last year, could be called to testify.

The World Bank Information Centre, which has a special segment on its website called Wolfowitz Watch, notes that “Mr Wolfowitz is regarded as one of the chief masterminds behind the war in Iraq and the policies directing US involvement. Criticisms over his contribution to the debacle have come to the fore following the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld”.

The posting suggests that “Mr Wolfowitz should put the bank's rhetoric around transparency and accountability into action by testifying should he be called to do so”.

Another posting on the same website points out that “Mr Wolfowitz’s confirmation followed a selection process criticised by many as opaque, undemocratic and inappropriately dominated by the United States”.