Diplomats:U.S. Alone in Fight to Oust UN's ElBaradei

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The United States is alone on the board of the U.N. nuclear watchdog in opposing a third term for agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei, diplomats said Wednesday. Heeding a U.S. request, the 35-nation governing board of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agencydelayed a decision until June on whether to give ElBaradei a third term at the high-profile agency, which he has headed since 1997.

``The United States is the only country against ElBaradei,'' a diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

The United States, which supported ElBaradei in 1997, turned against him because of what it sees as a lack of cooperation in Iraq and Iran, while most IAEA members see him as the only reasonable choice for a job no one else has come forward for.

Allies Canada and Australia have deserted Washington and are pressuring the Americans to accept the 62-year-old Egyptian lawyer for another 4-year team. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied that Washington had a vendetta against ElBaradei but confirmed that the United States still wanted him out. He said ElBaradei had ``served with distinction'' but added that Washington believed ``heads of U.N. organizations should serve no more than two terms.''


http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-nuclear-elbaradei.html