US set to back ElBaradei

[cal04]

UNITED Nations watchdog agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei is to meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington on Friday amid growing speculation that the United States is ready to end its opposition to his remaining at the helm for a third term."Dr ElBaradei has been invited by Ms Rice. The anticipation everybody has is that the United States has decided to support him" when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board meets next week to vote on a new director general, a European diplomat said on condition of anonymity.


The United States has so far opposed Dr ElBaradei, 62, serving more than two terms in a bitter face-off with other members of the 35-nation IAEA board of governors. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was approached as a possible replacement but turned it down. The official US line has been that heads of international organisations should not serve more than two terms. But diplomats noted that the former Egyptian diplomat provoked the ire of Washington for using his position as IAEA chief to question US intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction under now deposed dictator Saddam Hussein.

The United States also argues that Dr ElBaradei is not tough enough on Iran, which Washington accuses of hiding a covert nuclear weapons program, diplomats said. Washington is believed, however, to be ready to yield on Dr ElBaradei, as it has been unable to get an alternative candidate to come forward to oppose the widely respected IAEA chief and would have trouble marshalling a blocking minority of 12 votes needed to stop the election of Dr ElBaradei by the IAEA board.

The board had held a special session April 27 to discuss the appointment of a new director general when Dr ElBaradei's current four-year term expires November 30. Dr ElBaradei is the only candidate for the post.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15547597%255E1702,00.html

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. They didn't like when El Baradei labelled the Niger docs forgeries

On the floor of the Security Council.

But they'd look like fools to oppose him, so they have to eat it. Yum yum. Eat it, motherfuckers.

[Gloria]

2. IAEA Chief Set to Get US Backing for Third Term: Diplomats

From the new World Media Watch up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com


Another climbdown by Macho Man Bush......



1//The Khaleej Times, Unite Arab Emirates 7 June 2005

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2005/June/theworld_June214.xml§ion=theworld



IAEA CHIEF SET TO GET US BACKING FOR THIRD TERM: DIPLOMATS


VIENNA – (AFP) - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei is to travel to Washington on Thursday to meet US Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice, diplomats said Tuesday, amid growing speculation that Washington was ready to back him for a third term.



“Dr. ElBaradei has been invited by Ms. Rice. The anticipation everybody has is that the United States has decided to support him” when the UN nuclear watchdog agency meets next week to vote on a new director general, a European diplomat said under condition of anonymity.

Washington has so far opposed ElBaradei, 62, serving more than two terms.

The former Egyptian diplomat triggered the ire of Washington for using his position as IAEA chief to question US intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction under now deposed leader Saddam Hussein.

(SNIP)

Washington is believed however to be ready to yield on ElBaradei, as it has been unable to get an alternative candidate to come forward to oppose the widely respected IAEA chief.

[annabanana]

4. He'd better watch his back..

if he's coming to visit the lizard woman..

[FormerOstrich]

3. I was going to post this but see you already have....

there seems to be some additional nuggets of information in the MSN version. Reading the article just made my blood boil.....I despise how the US has been behaving, of late. Emphasis are mine.


....snip

"We're willing to lift our objections under certain conditions," one of the officials said. "Namely, get tougher on Iran."

The Bush administration's vigorous but solitary campaign -- including a complete halt of intelligence sharing, recruitment of potential replacements and eavesdropping on ElBaradei in search of ammunition against him -- won not a single ally on the IAEA board.

ElBaradei, who repeatedly challenged U.S. assertions about Iraq's weapons programs, does not need Washington's backing to be reappointed. He is supported by the 34 other countries on the IAEA board.

....snip

Bolton was the driving force behind efforts to oust ElBaradei -- whose stance on Iraq and cautious approach on Iran put him deeply at odds with the White House. But Bolton's efforts ran into trouble in December after revelations that U.S. officials were culling intercepts of ElBaradei's phone conversations for material to use against him.

....snip

Publicly, the administration has said its efforts to remove ElBaradei were motivated solely by a desire to see U.N. executives adopt term limits. "Our feeling on the director general is that we support the long-standing policy of two terms for director generals," Bolton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in April when it was reviewing his nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations. "That's been the policy. Currently, there are no candidates to oppose him, so we'll have to see how that policy plays out," he said.

But many allies viewed the campaign as retaliation against someone who questioned U.S. intelligence on Iraq and was vindicated when no weapons of mass destruction were found.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8135142/

[Spazito]

5. Well, well, well...Bolton again

Anytime I read that the bush cabal is trying to oust someone in an international organization, be it the U.N., the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons or something else, I just assume Bolton has had his ugly mug in there somewhere.