Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Gli USA soli ad opporsi alla riconferma di el Baradei all'AIEA (AP)

IAEA Delays ElBaradei Reappointment
By GEORGE JAHN
The Associated Press
VIENNA, Austria - The United States opposed the reappointment of the 
U.N.'s top nuclear inspector Wednesday because of his views on Iran and 
prewar Iraq, prompting the atomic watchdog agency to delay its decision 
to avoid a confrontation with Washington and other members.
The board of the International Atomic Energy Agency has until June to 
decide whether to reappoint Mohamed ElBaradei to a third term. At a 
brief meeting Wednesday, the board postponed a decision on the 
reappointment.
Wednesday's deferral was aimed at avoiding a vote that would pit the 
United States against most of the 34 other board nations. Traditionally, 
decisions are reached through consensus.
U.S. officials refused to comment on the meeting. But a Western diplomat 
familiar with the U.S. position said they were weighing their options 
before June and hoping to swing traditional allies to muster the minimum 
of 12 votes needed to block ElBaradei.
The issue of who controls the IAEA is key for Washington, which is 
opposed in principle to heads of U.N. agencies serving a third term but 
also wants someone sharing its view of which countries represent nuclear 
threats and what to do about them.
ElBaradei has challenged those views - particularly over Iran and prewar 
Iraq, both of which President Bush labeled part of an "axis of evil" 
with North Korea.
ElBaradei first disputed U.S. assertions that Saddam Hussein had an 
active nuclear weapons program - claims that remain unproven. He then 
refused to endorse assertions by Washington that Tehran was working to 
make nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for generating 
electricity.
The Bush administration called on him to step down after completing a 
second term, but a direct attempt to unseat ElBaradei fizzled last year 
when the United States could not find anyone to challenge him for a 
third term by the Dec. 31 deadline.
Support for ElBaradei increased during the meeting, one diplomat said on 
condition of anonymity. Thirty-four of the 35 IAEA board member 
countries supported a third term for ElBaradei, he said.
Another diplomat who attended the meeting said its chairwoman, Canadian 
diplomat Ingrid Hall, spoke of "strong and broad support" for ElBaradei.
Representatives of China and Russia voiced strong support for ElBaradei, 
and the Russian delegate spoke of "full support (for) and deep 
satisfaction" with ElBaradei, the diplomat said.
The Russian called for his reappointment "the sooner the better," she 
said, adding that a delegate for Luxembourg, speaking for the European 
Union, urged further consultations to achieve consensus.
Diplomats in Vienna said Wednesday the Americans still had no candidate.
Wednesday's meeting was called earlier this month at the request of 
developing nations on the 35-nation board to support a reappointment of 
ElBaradei.
"We're quite confident that the meeting is going to be a constructive 
one and it will be an additional step toward ensuring the reappointment 
of Dr. ElBaradei," Egypt's chief delegate, Ramzy Ezzelin Ramzy, said 
before the meeting.
At the time Wednesday's meeting was set, diplomats hinted that 
developing nations hoped their cause would benefit from changes in the 
U.S. State Department that have left a key position temporarily in flux.
Former U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton, a key ElBaradei critic, 
is waiting for U.S. Senate confirmation as his nation's new ambassador 
to the United Nations. His designated successor, Bob Joseph, also must 
be approved by the Senate.
 April 27, 2005 7:55 PM

countries supported a third term for ElBaradei, he said.
Peccato che e' la sua parola, che conta meno di un ca**o, specialmentre
quando data in condizioni di anonimato :)
-Stefano