Dobbs Town
09-01-2005, 13:14
Just when I'm starting to feel slightly less queasy than I have in a few months...this:
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United States working behind scenes to oust head of UN nuclear agency
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Even though he's running unopposed, Mohamed ElBaradei may still fail in his bid for a third term as head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency, tripped by his main opponent, the United States.
Unable to find a candidate willing to go toe to toe against the independent-minded Egyptian diplomat, Washington is now quietly lobbying other countries on the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency in a bid to unseat ElBaradei. Then it hopes to engineer the choice of a replacement more to its own liking - one harder on Iran and other countries on the U.S. enemies list.
Since the agency spearheads international efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons, the issue of who controls the IAEA is key for officials in the administration of President George W. Bush. They want someone in charge who shares their view of which countries constitute nuclear threats and what to do about them.
But ElBaradei has challenged those views - particularly over Iraq and Iran, both labelled part of the "Axis of Evil" by Bush.
He first disputed U.S. assertions that deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein had an active nuclear weapons program - claims that remain unproven. He then refused to endorse assertions by Washington that Iran is working to make nuclear arms.
A direct U.S. attempt to unseat ElBaradei fizzled late last year, with the Americans unable to find anyone to challenge him for a third term by a Dec. 31 deadline shortly after the Bush administration called on him to step down after he completes his second term next summer.
Since then, the nuclear power struggle has moved underground, but even before Dec. 31 much of it was cloak and dagger, including reported U.S. wiretaps of ElBaradei's phone to try and show he was demonstrating favouritism toward Iran in his investigation of its nuclear activities.
It's not the first U.S. campaign against UN officials deemed at odds with its foreign policy. Washington blocked Egyptian Boutros Boutros-Ghali from a second term as UN secretary general in 1996.
More recently, in 2002, Jose Mauricio Bustani was voted out as director-general of the UN Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons after Washington accused him of mismanagement and rallied other countries in a vote to have him dismissed.
At the time, Bustani's supporters said Washington wanted him removed not because he performed poorly but because he supported making Iraq a member of his organization, which might have interfered with U.S. plans for war with that country.
U.S. officials in Vienna and Washington refuse to discuss Washington's strategy in toppling ElBaradei. But diplomats accredited to the Vienna-based IAEA said the United States has a new candidate in the wings, who will be presented if Washington swings enough countries on the IAEA board of governors to back its demand for a non-confidence vote in the incumbent.
"They've already started lobbying in the capitals," said one diplomat, who insisted on anonymity like others who spoke the issue.
"Whether or not they call for a (non-confidence) vote depends on the support they will get."
ElBaradei appears to be taking the campaign to oust him in stride.
"Member states have asked me to continue to serve," he said.
"I see that as confidence in my stewardship."
Agency officials close to the soft-spoken, austere diplomat said he is of two minds about what they called a sometimes nasty U.S. campaign against the IAEA leader. One official said ElBaradei tried to ignore the reports his phone calls were bugged but also was angry his conversations with family members had been monitored.
To oust ElBaradei, Washington must find backing from 12 other member countries on the 35-member IAEA board of governors. It can already count on traditional allies Canada and Australia and several others and diplomats said it hopes to swing enough others from Europe behind it for the required number.
Key here are countries like Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, all with strong loyalties to Washington that also are supporters of the U.S. campaign in Iraq. Other potential supporters include West European countries now sitting on the fence over whether to back ElBaradei.
"He continues to enjoy our confidence," one West European diplomat said of ElBaradei.
But then, hedging his comment, he added his country agrees with the consensus among states paying the bulk of UN bills that heads of UN organizations should serve only two terms.
Also crucial to whether ElBaradei will be ousted is who Washington has waiting in the wings.
With candidates from nuclear weapons countries unwanted in the job, any replacement is unlikely to be American. Diplomats also said they doubt the Bush administration can put forward anyone who will find broad acceptance from the IAEA board, which has been skeptical about U.S. efforts to control the direction that the agency takes.
A wild card, played Friday, was the announcement from Washington that U.S. undersecretary of state John Bolton was being replaced. Bolton, an administration hawk, was considered the chief architect of the anti-ElBaradei campaign.
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http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050108/w010842.html
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United States working behind scenes to oust head of UN nuclear agency
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Even though he's running unopposed, Mohamed ElBaradei may still fail in his bid for a third term as head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency, tripped by his main opponent, the United States.
Unable to find a candidate willing to go toe to toe against the independent-minded Egyptian diplomat, Washington is now quietly lobbying other countries on the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency in a bid to unseat ElBaradei. Then it hopes to engineer the choice of a replacement more to its own liking - one harder on Iran and other countries on the U.S. enemies list.
Since the agency spearheads international efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons, the issue of who controls the IAEA is key for officials in the administration of President George W. Bush. They want someone in charge who shares their view of which countries constitute nuclear threats and what to do about them.
But ElBaradei has challenged those views - particularly over Iraq and Iran, both labelled part of the "Axis of Evil" by Bush.
He first disputed U.S. assertions that deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein had an active nuclear weapons program - claims that remain unproven. He then refused to endorse assertions by Washington that Iran is working to make nuclear arms.
A direct U.S. attempt to unseat ElBaradei fizzled late last year, with the Americans unable to find anyone to challenge him for a third term by a Dec. 31 deadline shortly after the Bush administration called on him to step down after he completes his second term next summer.
Since then, the nuclear power struggle has moved underground, but even before Dec. 31 much of it was cloak and dagger, including reported U.S. wiretaps of ElBaradei's phone to try and show he was demonstrating favouritism toward Iran in his investigation of its nuclear activities.
It's not the first U.S. campaign against UN officials deemed at odds with its foreign policy. Washington blocked Egyptian Boutros Boutros-Ghali from a second term as UN secretary general in 1996.
More recently, in 2002, Jose Mauricio Bustani was voted out as director-general of the UN Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons after Washington accused him of mismanagement and rallied other countries in a vote to have him dismissed.
At the time, Bustani's supporters said Washington wanted him removed not because he performed poorly but because he supported making Iraq a member of his organization, which might have interfered with U.S. plans for war with that country.
U.S. officials in Vienna and Washington refuse to discuss Washington's strategy in toppling ElBaradei. But diplomats accredited to the Vienna-based IAEA said the United States has a new candidate in the wings, who will be presented if Washington swings enough countries on the IAEA board of governors to back its demand for a non-confidence vote in the incumbent.
"They've already started lobbying in the capitals," said one diplomat, who insisted on anonymity like others who spoke the issue.
"Whether or not they call for a (non-confidence) vote depends on the support they will get."
ElBaradei appears to be taking the campaign to oust him in stride.
"Member states have asked me to continue to serve," he said.
"I see that as confidence in my stewardship."
Agency officials close to the soft-spoken, austere diplomat said he is of two minds about what they called a sometimes nasty U.S. campaign against the IAEA leader. One official said ElBaradei tried to ignore the reports his phone calls were bugged but also was angry his conversations with family members had been monitored.
To oust ElBaradei, Washington must find backing from 12 other member countries on the 35-member IAEA board of governors. It can already count on traditional allies Canada and Australia and several others and diplomats said it hopes to swing enough others from Europe behind it for the required number.
Key here are countries like Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, all with strong loyalties to Washington that also are supporters of the U.S. campaign in Iraq. Other potential supporters include West European countries now sitting on the fence over whether to back ElBaradei.
"He continues to enjoy our confidence," one West European diplomat said of ElBaradei.
But then, hedging his comment, he added his country agrees with the consensus among states paying the bulk of UN bills that heads of UN organizations should serve only two terms.
Also crucial to whether ElBaradei will be ousted is who Washington has waiting in the wings.
With candidates from nuclear weapons countries unwanted in the job, any replacement is unlikely to be American. Diplomats also said they doubt the Bush administration can put forward anyone who will find broad acceptance from the IAEA board, which has been skeptical about U.S. efforts to control the direction that the agency takes.
A wild card, played Friday, was the announcement from Washington that U.S. undersecretary of state John Bolton was being replaced. Bolton, an administration hawk, was considered the chief architect of the anti-ElBaradei campaign.
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http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050108/w010842.html
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