The Hindu : International : ElBaradei gets third term as U.S. drops objection

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Wednesday, Jun 15, 2005

International

International

ElBaradei gets third term as U.S. drops objection

Jonathan Steele

European diplomats are impressed by the IAEA chief's record

VIENNA: The U.S. formally dropped its objections on Monday to the appointment of Mohamed ElBaradei to a third term as head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog.

The 35-member board of the International Atomic Energy Agency unanimously endorsed a third four-year term for the 62-year-old Egyptian, who angered Washington in 2003 by contradicting U.S. intelligence before the Iraq war and saying that Saddam Hussein's regime did not have nuclear weapons or a nuclear programme.

No challenger

Although U.N. agency heads normally serve a maximum of two terms, there was no serious alternative candidate. European diplomats have been impressed with Mr ElBaradei's record since he took over in 1997 and the U.S. would have been in a minority of one had it tried to veto his candidacy.

``The U.S. probably decided it wasn't worth the candle to put up a robust resistance,'' a European diplomat said.

Washington had already angered many non-nuclear states with its refusal to discuss disarmament options for the nuclear powers during last month's conference to review the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. ``The non-aligned states signalled they would react very strongly if the U.S. wouldn't support ElBaradei,'' said another European diplomat.

The IAEA chief is heavily engaged in leading the inspections of Iran's controversial nuclear energy programme.

With the Iranian case still unresolved, diplomats argued that this was not the right time to appoint a different head. Mr ElBaradei also seems to have been helped by the job-switching of John Bolton, who used to manage the nuclear file at the State Department.

The Bolton factor

He is still struggling to win Senate approval as President George Bush's nominee to represent the U.S. at the U.N. He was Mr ElBaradei's severest U.S. critic, accusing him among other things of being weak on Iran.

In spite of U.S. charges of softness, the IAEA head has repeatedly criticised Iran for its lack of openness with the agency's inspectors.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

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