IAEA: Office Politics

IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei recently gave Iran a clean bill of health in an interview with four US newspapers, including the Washington Post:

"If I look at the big picture," he said, "there is no enrichment in Iran, and this is quite satisfactory, and I hope it keeps this way until we reach an agreement" for a permanent stop.

...ElBaradei's last report on the status of the investigation in November said that Iran's cooperation had improved steadily and that most outstanding issues had been resolved.

Obviously, the US disagrees with this assessment and places Iran at the "top of the list" of states it worries about.

ElBaradei, in the interview, says he worries most about North Korea, not Iran.

The Telegraph (UK), February 13, reported that the US is trying to topple the IAEA chief:

America is stepping up its efforts to remove Mohammed El Baradei, the Egyptian head of the United Nations atomic energy agency, as Washington prepares for a showdown over Iran's secret nuclear programme, a senior Bush adminstration official has revealed.

"It cannot be good for an organisation when the biggest contributor and its director general are at odds with each other," said the official, who is at the heart of policy-making in Washington.

...US officials are trying to gain support for a no-confidence vote, possibly at the next IAEA meeting on February 28.

So far, apparently, the US cannot find anyone willing to replace ElBaradei.

Does anyone remember what the IAEA said about Iraq's nuclear program...versus, say, what the Bush people said?

Bush stays, Condi stays, Rumsfeld stays, Cheney stays...but ElBaradei, who was right, must go?

Up is down.