IAEA Chief OK'd for Third Term

[cal04]

The 139-nation International Atomic Energy Agency approved the appointment of Mohamed ElBaradei as its head for a third term on Monday, reflecting formal backing of his leadership after the United States ended its opposition to his tenure. The IAEA general conference approved a third four-year term unanimously, by acclamation, at the start of its plenary meeting. The move had been expected after the IAEA's executive board agreed to the reappointment earlier this year.

The United States dropped opposition to a third term for ElBaradei several months ago, recognizing it lacked the backing of a majority of other board member nations to prevent his reappointment. Washington viewed ElBaradei as being too soft on Iran for not declaring it in violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. That stance blocked a U.S. bid to haul Tehran before the U.N. Security Council for more than two years.

Last week's meeting of the IAEA board agreed to a resolution that clears the path for such action as early as November unless Iran meets international concerns about its nuclear program. The United States wanted someone in the post who shares its view of which countries represent nuclear threats and what to do about them. ElBaradei has challenged that view, particularly over Iran and Iraq.

He refused to endorse Washington's contention that Iran was working to make nuclear weapons and disputed U.S. assertions that Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq had an active atomic weapons program -- both claims that remain unproven, despite growing suspicions about Tehran's nuclear agenda.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Nuclear-Agency.html
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050926/ap_on_re_eu/nuclear_agency_1

[wakeme2008]

1. Sounds like somebody

put a sock in Bolton mouth... He is being very quite. Rove is reading Bush's poll numbers, IMHO and is trying to keep ppl like Bolton from going ape shit and hurting *.