El-Baradei, feeling the nuclear heat of the US
Regional-USA, Politics, 1/31/2005

It is no secret that the Bush administration does not want to see Mohamed ElBaradei win a third term as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear watchdog.

The administration views El-Baradei as too soft on Iran and too hard on Israel. But the real source of the administration's irritation may be El-Baradei's correct assessment before the war that there were no nuclear weapons in Iraq.

In an interview with The Washington Post-Newsweek's Lally Weymouth at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland last week, El-Baradei, 62, discussed his frosty relationship with the administration and his goals for a third term -- curbing Iran's nuclear program, possibly engaging with North Korea and making sure that nuclear equipment has not fallen into terrorist hands.

Asked if is running for a third term, El-Baradei said " I am. I am the only candidate."

ÊÊÊ Asked "Why does the U.S. want to get rid of you?" He said "They say they believe in a two-term policy for heads of international organizations, but most other countries have asked me to continue because we are in the middle of a war and we have a lot of important issues: Iran is still a major issue, and as for North Korea -- I'd like to see some progress there before I go."

ÊÊÊ Asked "Before the war, you said Iraq had no nuclear weapons. Is this what the administration has against you?" He said "I don't know. Someone told me it is dangerous to be wrong but even more dangerous to be right.
Frankly, I think we can ill afford to be distracted by the issue of who is going to be director general."

ÊÊÊ Asked "Now the Bush administration is arguing that you are not tough enough on Iran. Your reaction?" He said "It depends on how you define soft. The results in Iran are something I am quite proud of. Eighteen months ago, Iran was a black box -- we didn't know much about what was happening. Now, we have a fairly good picture of what is happening. We understand how complex and extensive that program is."

Meantime, MENA said that The African Union's Executive Council unanimously approved on Sunday the nomination of Mohamed Al Baradei for a third term in office as head of the United nations nuclear watchdog.

Previous Stories:
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  Rice vows to use 'tools of diplomacy' to advance democracy   (1/29/2005)
  Albright against imposing reforms on ME   (1/28/2005)

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