[Peace-discuss] Good news for a change

[Paul Patton]

 *In a Nod Against Nuclear Proliferation, IAEA and ElBaradei Share 2005
Nobel Peace Prize *
  *by Doug Mellgren*
    OSLO, Norway - Mohamed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy
Agency that he heads won the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Friday for their efforts
to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

ElBaradei, a 63-year-old lawyer from Egypt, has headed the U.N. nuclear
agency as it grappled with the crisis in Iraq and the ongoing efforts to
prevent North Korea and Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

The Nobel Committee said ElBaradei and the IAEA should be recognized for
addressing one of the greatest dangers facing the world.

"At a time when the threat of nuclear arms is again increasing, the
Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to underline that this threat must be met
through the broadest possible international cooperation. This principle
finds its clearest expression today in the work of the IAEA and its director
general."

ElBaradei, who was reappointed last month to a third term, has had to
contend with U.S. opposition to his tenure. Much of the opposition stemmed
from Washington's perception that he was 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.

He also 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.

ElBaradei and the agency had been among the names mentioned as speculation
mounted in recent days that the Nobel committee would seek to honor the
victims of nuclear weapons and those who try to contain their use.

The committee recognized "their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being
used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful
purposes is used in the safest possible way."

A record 199 nominations were received for the prize, which includes $1.3
million, a gold medal and a diploma. ElBaradei and the IAEA will share the
award when they receive it on Dec. 10 in the Norwegian capital.

In Vienna, where the agency is based, IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said:
"I never thought we'd see this day. This is the proudest day for the IAEA.
We are proud, astonished, elated."

The Nobel Committee called ElBaradei "an unafraid advocate" of new measures
to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

"At a time when disarmament efforts appear deadlocked, when there is a
danger that nuclear arms will spread both to states and to terrorist groups,
and when nuclear power again appears to be playing an increasingly
significant role, IAEA's work is of incalculable importance," the committee
said.

Former chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix told The Associated Press that
as a friend and colleague of ElBaradei, he was "very happy on his behalf."

"It is very encouraging and fortunate," Blix said. "I see it as an
endorsement of the professional and independent role of the IAEA and of
international verification in the field of nuclear power and
non-proliferation."

He declined to comment on whether the award should be seen as a message that
the United States should have listened more to the IAEA before invading
Iraq.

However he said the IAEA is best-equipped to deal with nuclear situations
such as those in Iran and North Korea.

Under ElBaradei, the IAEA has risen from a nondescript bureaucracy
monitoring nuclear sites worldwide to a pivotal institution at the vortex of
efforts to disarm the two regimes.

The austere and methodical diplomat took a strident line as he guided the
agency through the most serious troubles it faced since the end of the Cold
War.

He accused North Korea, for example, of "nuclear brinkmanship" in December
2002 after it expelled two inspectors who were monitoring a mothballed
nuclear complex. Pyongyang said the plant needed to go back on line in light
of an electricity shortage.

Norway's outgoing Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said it was
"gratifying" that IAEA and ElBaradei won the peace prize.

"This is a homage to their crucial efforts to stop nuclear proliferation, in
order to prevent the use of such weapons in conflicts between states or in
terrorist attacks," he said.

"Mohammad El Baradei is an outstanding leader with great integrity. He has
always sought to achieve results by negotiations. We saw this clearly during
the period before the Iraq war, when he all the way to the end requested
that the international weapons inspectors continue their work."

Ultimately a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq and no weapons of mass
destruction were found. An international occupation force remains in the
country.

(c) Copyright 2005 Associated Press
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