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Africa North

Egypt's Morsi grants himself sweeping new powers

2012-11-22

Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi has granted himself sweeping new powers, one day after winning praise for his role in brokering the ceasefire in Gaza. Mr Morsi has decreed that all decisions he has made since coming into office, and all decisions he will make until a new constitution is passed, will not be subject to appeal or review by any court. He has also ordered that no court can dissolve the Islamist-dominated constituent assembly which is now drafting a new constitution. And he gave the body - which was due to issue a draft constitution in December - two extra months to come up with a charter, that will then be put to a referendum. Mr Morsi's declaration was aimed at "cleansing state institutions" and "destroying the infrastructure of the old regime," the president's spokesman said. The moves are linked to events in June, when a court dissolved the lower house of parliament, which was dominated by Islamists. Nobel laureate and former UN atomic energy agency chief Mohamed El Baradei lashed out at the declaration, which would effectively put the president above judicial oversight. "Morsi today usurped all state powers and appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh. A major blow to the revolution that could have dire consequences," El Baradei wrote on his Twitter account. Mr Morsi has also ordered the re-trial of leaders from former strongman Hosni Mubarak's regime.

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Arabia

50 Nuclear Experts to Take Part in Saudi Symposium

2008-10-27

JEDDAH - Nearly 50 renowned nuclear scientists and experts from across the world, including the United States, Russia, China, Canada, France, Germany and Japan, are to take part in Saudi Arabia's first international symposium on the peaceful use of nuclear technology in the Gulf countries, which will be held at King Abdul Aziz University (KAAU) here from November 3 to 5. Oh goody, let's give the Magic Kingdom nukes, what could possibly go wrong ... Moreover, a number of ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are expected to participate in the symposium. Mohammed Subian Al-Johani, head of the event's organising committee and dean of KAAU's department of nuclear engineering, said all preparations have been made for the event. He said that 50 studies and working papers, which are to be discussed during the sessions, have been received and translated. "This in itself is a wealth of knowledge," he added. He explained that the scientific committee has carefully revised and approved the papers that will be presented by the participants who also include members of many nuclear agencies. According to Al Johani, the tentative programme of the opening ceremony includes a speech by Mohamed El Baradei, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to be read out on his behalf by Peter Saleema, a senior IAEA official. He said that the programme also includes speeches by Minister of Higher Education Khaled Al Anqari, KAAU President Osama Tayeb, Dean of the university's Faculty of Engineering Faisal Iskanderani, and representative of the European Union Luis Martin-Oar. Al Johani said participants would listen to the experiences of countries such as Egypt, the Czech Republic, Chile and others in the domain of nuclear technology.

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International-UN-NGOs

IAEA chief El Baradei won't seek fourth term

2008-09-10

My work is done here... International Atomic Energy Agency Director Mohamed El Baradei plans to leave office after his third term expires in November 2009, according to an IAEA memo released on Wednesday. Is he taking his seeing eye dog with him, or will the UN need it for the next guy? El Baradei who has presided over politically volatile IAEA investigations into nuclear activities of North Korea, Iran, Libya and Syria since becoming director in 1997, "is not available for a further term in office", the memo said. The 66-year-old Egyptian and the Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 just months after the United States tried in vain to foil his election to a third term by the IAEA's 35-nation board of directors. El Baradei, who has clashed with the United States and allies over alleged soft treatment of Iran, accusations he rejected, had been expected to leave at the end of his current mandate, diplomats accredited to the IAEA said. I guess ya figure they got enough of a head start so you can hang it up, huh, Mo? The IAEA memo, sent to IAEA board members on Friday, said the deadline for nominations of candidates to succeed El Baradei was Dec. 31, and informal consultations would ensue in search of board agreement on the next agency director. So long, Mo. Don't let the door...well, you know.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran: UN nuclear inspectors arrive in Tehran

2008-08-19

(AKI) - The United Nations' nuclear watchdog chief, Olli Heinonen arrived in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Monday for fresh talks with senior government officials regarding the country's nuclear programme. Olli Heinonen from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency or IAEA is expected to meet officials from Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation or IAEO in Tehran. Heinonen previously held talks with Iranian officials during a two-day visit in Iran in early August. He described his talks with the Iranian senior officials as "constructive" reported Iranian state news agency IRNA. IAEA Director-General Mohamed El Baradei is due to present a report on Iran's nuclear programme to the IAEA's Board of Governors early September. Iran rejects suspicions harboured by the US and other western powers that its nuclear programme is aimed at building atomic weapons.

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Home Front: WoT

The Bush Method

2008-04-30

One of the prisms through which those of a certain age view the Middle East is the events of June 7, 1981, when a squadron of Israeli F-16 warplanes wheeled out of the afternoon skies over Baghdad and destroyed the atomic-bomb-making facility at Osirak. The event is widely remembered for Israel's daring and skill, for removing the threat of a nuclear-armed Iraq from the world stage, and for the howls of diplomatic outrage that greeted the event, egged on by an editorial in the New York Times that derided Prime Minister Begin for making a "sneak attack" and called the raid "an act of inexcusable and short-sighted aggression." Even President Reagan, though privately he stood with Israel, was forced to tut-tut publicly. For those who came up during this period, it has been extraordinarily satisfying to watch the adroitness with which President Bush has dealt with Israel's decision to send a new generation of warplanes to destroy a new enemy reactor under construction, this time one that was being constructed with North Korean help in Syria. Mr. Bush had kept famously silent after that attack; at one press conference, he had fairly glared at a reporter who'd asked him about it, issuing an exceptionally terse no comment. Only last week did the administration let share with the Congress that it had detailed intelligence showing North Korean agents inside the reactor compound. And what a remarkable performance it was yesterday to watch Mr. Bush explain, for the first time, his thinking. Why did the White House wait? In turns out there were four reasons. On Tuesday, the president explained that a public confirmation of Israel's attack, which was deep in Syrian territory, could have provoked a counter-attack at the least and a regional war at worst. And he gave three other reasons: Iran, North Korea and Syria. In the negotiations with North Korea on its disclosure of its plutonium based weapons program, Mr. Bush wanted to pressure Pyongyang to disclose fully its other enrichment activities and its illicit trade in nuclear technology. This means that the deal many of us worried was in the offing, one that would loosen sanctions and decrease pressure on the Hermit Kingdom, is likely to be delayed until Kim Jong Il comes clean about all of his rogue atomic proliferation. In respect of Iran, the president said he believed the disclosure last week would again emphasize the urgency with which the world must come behind the largely financial sanctions aimed at pressuring the mullahs to end their uranium enrichment, an activity now in defiance of three resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. In respect of Syria, the president Bush allayed some fears that he would be going along with the State Department's push for a Golan negotiation between Damascus and Israel. He spoke of wanting to make clear to Syria and the world the consequences of Syrian "intransigence." "So," said the president, "that's why we made the decision we made." No doubt his decision to wait to explain himself can be argued, but it can't be argued that he failed to act with purpose and sagacity. He limited briefings to only 22 top leaders in Congress, a decision that divided the administration's remaining hawks from the Gates-Hadley-Rice faction that favors a policy of counterinsurgency in Iraq but accommodation in the rest of the region. Our Eli Lake's reported that even such conservatives as John Bolton and the ranking Republican on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence fumed at the decision to keep the details of the Syrian-North Korean program secret for so long. Now the president is in control of the table, so to speak. His critics may have had a field day, but following the disclosures of what the administration knew, some of them have egg on their faces. Seymour Hersh, who wrote in February that he "was repeatedly told by current and former intelligence, diplomatic, and congressional officials that they were not aware of any solid evidence of ongoing nuclear-weapons programs in Syriak," will want to call his office. No wet hen was ever madder than the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed El Baradei, who has been denouncing Israel. Mr. Bush clearly appreciates that logic of Israel's decision to act against the atomic-bomb-building facility took years to come into full relief. Mr. Bush understood all that, signaled his support in a discrete way, and shared his thinking on a schedule he saw fit, knowing that a full assessment of his presidency will be made by historians operating well into the future.

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India-Pakistan

No nuclear deal with other countries: U.S.

2007-07-29

WASHINGTON: Stating that India was a “unique” case, the Bush administration has ruled out a similar civilian nuclear deal with any other country including ally Pakistan, and stressed that the “very high bar” of the Nuclear Suppliers Group on proliferation would prevent other nations from getting the same “treatment” as New Delhi. “This is complicated enough, I can assure you, that the United States is not going to suggest a similar deal with any other country in the world. We’ve always felt of India as an exception,” Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said during a briefing on the Indian civilian nuclear initiative here on Friday. “We have made the argument that India has not proliferated its nuclear technology; that India, in effect, outside the system, has played by the rules and that the system would be strengthened by bringing it in. But we’re not anticipating, in any way, shape or form, a similar deal for any other country,” he said. Mr. Burns said once India completed a safeguards agreement with IAEA chief Mohamed El Baradei, “then the action — September, October, I hope, November — will turn to the NSG.” He said there was a “very high bar” in the NSG as “every single one of the 45 countries has to agree” for a consensus.

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International-UN-NGOs

Downer turned down nuke job offer: report

2004-12-12

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has been approached to become the next head of the United Nation's nuclear watchdog, according to the the Washington Post. The newspaper says the Bush administration wants the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed El Baradei, to step down. The article says the US asked Mr Downer several months ago if he would consider the job but he apparently refused to challenge Dr El Baradei. The Post reports that the US has bugged Dr El Baradei's phone calls with Iranian officials in its bid to push him out of the job. Hardliners within the Bush administration think Dr El Baradei is too soft on Iran but Democrat Senator Joe Biden is concerned. "It's a very slippery, dangerous slope as we're trying to re-establish ourselves as a player in the international community," he said. "I'd be very careful if I were them." "I agree with the administration, [Dr El Baradei] is going a little too slow with Iran but this is really a dangerous and slippery slope."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran Nuclear Inspections 'Longer Than Usual,' Says IAEA

2004-11-26

Deutsche Presse-Agentur Inspections of Iran's nuclear program will take longer than usual owing to the country's former policy of concealment, said IAEA chief Mohamed El Baradei yesterday. In his opening speech to an IAEA Council of Governors meeting, he said: "The IAEA is presently not in a position to say that in Iran there are no undeclared nuclear materials and relevant activities." However, also according to the present stand of information, no declared nuclear materials had been rerouted for banned activities, said the general director, according to the text of his speech. El Baradei said progress had been made in two key areas, but they still had to be clarified. They were the origin of traces of enriched uranium which had been found in some installations, and the extent of Iranian efforts to import and use centrifuges of the P1 and P2 types.

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Iraq-Jordan

U.S. investigates Iraq nuclear theft

2004-10-13

By Betsy Pisik THE WASHINGTON TIMES October 13th, 2004 U.S. officials yesterday said they would look into a report that radioactive material and sophisticated equipment had disappeared from Iraq's nuclear power and research facilities, but expressed confidence that such dangerous materials are now secure. In a letter to the U.N. Security Council on Monday, Mohamed El Baradei the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that whole buildings had suffered "systematic dismantlement" and that sensitive equipment previously subject to U.N. verification and monitoring had disappeared. U.S. officials at the United Nations and the State Department said Washington would investigate the charges, but expressed no urgency. "I think we share the general concern that some material might have gotten out into the market immediately after the war," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said yesterday. "But to the extent that all of us have been able to bring it under control, we have done that, and we have been able to — I think the Iraqis have been able to put in place the kind of monitoring safeguards and control systems that are necessary to prevent any further leakage." At the United Nations yesterday, Deputy U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson told reporters: "Obviously, we'll do a full investigation, working with the Iraqis." But other U.S. officials seemed eager to play down the two-page letter, saying they had not seen it before yesterday. The IAEA concerns surfaced only three weeks before the U.S. presidential election, in which the Iraq invasion and its justification have become issues.

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Iran

IAEA PLANS ANOTHER REPORT ON IRAN’S NUKES

2003-11-30

From Middle East News Line LONDON [MENL] -- The International Atomic Energy Agency plans to issue another report on Iran’s nuclear program. Another report! O Joy Unbounded! We can hardly wait! IAEA sources said the purpose of the report is meant to determine whether Iran intends to assemble nuclear weapons. In its November report, the agency said it could not make such a determination. And what, I ask, will be IAEA’s algorithm for separating real McCoy from Decoy, given the way they must gather information in Iran? Another issue in the forthcoming report would be Iran’s links with unauthorized nuclear suppliers, including the source for Teheran’s uranium enrichment program. The sources said the agency suspects that Pakistan has been a leading supplier of uranium to Iran. Pakistan is becoming a real pain in the ass in the WoT. We are allied with a schitzophrentic. IAEA director-general Mohamed El Baradei said the new report on Iran would be ready by February when the board of governors convenes. El Baradei said the agency would attempt to conclude whether Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes. Good luck, fellas! In the meantime, it will be prudent to keep proceeding with US and Israeli plans for dealing with the nukes. The clock is ticking down to less than a year at the longest for action.

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Europe

Shortlist for Europe’s Top Human Rights Prize

2003-10-01

OK, put the coffee down: U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, slain U.N. envoy to Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello and former chief weapons inspector Hans Blix made the shortlist Wednesday for Europe’s top human rights prize. The shortlist, which was decided on by the European Union assembly’s foreign affairs committee, included International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed El Baradei for his work with Blix in Iraq. Bwahahaha!! Jailed Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji was also named for his protest against the Tehran government. If he had protested against Bush he might have been a contender The decision on the winner of this year’s "Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought" and the $58,000 prize that goes with it will be made Oct. 16. Named for the late Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, the prize is awarded annually by the European Parliament to defenders of human rights and democracy. Good thing he’s dead and can’t comment on the nominees. There was wide agreement among the six main political groups in the 626-member legislature to honor U.N. staff for their role in trying to prevent war in Iraq and in reconstruction efforts now under way. Kofi - failed, Blix - failed, Mohamed - failed, Akbar - jailed, Vieira - KIA. Vieira de Mello and nine other U.N. staffers were killed in an Aug. 19 suicide bomb attack on the U.N.’s Baghdad headquarters. The parliament gave the 2002 prize to Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya. Other winners include former South African president Nelson Mandela, East Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao and Ibrahim Rugova, the Kosovo leader. I’d say it should be between Vieira and Akbar, with Vieira getting my vote for his work in East Timor and dying at his desk in Iraq. I’m afraid I know very little about Akbar.

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Iraq

France issues threat to block resolution

2003-03-08

New progress reports presented by the chief UN weapons inspectors yesterday offered no reason for the anti-war axis of France, Russia, China and Germany to drop their stiffening opposition to an early US-led attack on Iraq. Hans Blix and Mohamed El Baradei's verdict of mainly improved cooperation from Baghdad and demand for more time to finish their job bolstered the weasels sceptics, three of whom are veto-wielding UN security council members. Nobody doubted that would happen.... The US president, George Bush, on Thursday warned security council members the time had come to "show their cards on Saddam". These cards a pair of deuces, a four of hearts, a six of clubs and a nine of diamonds were displayed yesterday in the countries' responses to Mr Blix's statement, as their foreign ministers reiterated broad opposition to swift military action ever. And no one's in the least surprised... France The French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, implicitly threatened to use France's veto to block a new resolution giving the green light to war. He also rejected setting any deadline for Iraqi compliance with UN resolution 1441, saying that would be a pretext for war. "The reports tell us that for a month, Iraq has been barely actively cooperating with a gun to its head," Mr de Villepin said. "Why should we now engage in war with Iraq? Why smash the instruments that have just proved their effectiveness?" Because we don't intend to keep this up until Doomsday... Baghdad presents "less of a danger to the world" than it did before the Gulf war in 1991, Mr de Villepin said, adding that while Paris was prepared to accept an "accelerated timetable" for the weapons inspections, it "cannot accept an ultimatum as long as the inspectors are reporting progress. That would mean war". "And we always think the inspectors will make progress." As a veto-holding security council member, France "will not allow a resolution to pass that authorises the automatic use of force", the foreign minister said. He suggested instead that the inspectors draw up a "hierarchy of tasks for disarmament" and give a new progress report every three weeks for the next three years, and called for world heads of state to meet at the UN to "make the choice between war and peace". There's a good idea. I'd love to have a picture of Chiraq with his hand up, voting 'non'. Ditto for Putin and Schroeder. Those would be mighty useful. France is working hard to ensure the new resolution drawn up by the US, Britain and Spain will not win a majority on the 15-member council. Mr de Villepin will visit Angola, Cameroon and Guinea - all council members who are undecided over Iraq - next week, diplomatic sources in Paris said. I hope Colin Powell is working just as hard to get these countries to our side. Russia Igor Ivanov, the Russian foreign minister, appeared less forceful than his French colleague and avoided using the word veto. He hardened his position against Iraq, admitting for the first time that it could have cooperated better with inspections, and calling for Baghdad to be set a list of disarmament tasks to perform. Cats-paw; that's the set-up for the French to have a never-ending list. But Mr Ivanov said the chance of disarming Iraq peacefully "really did exist". He warned of the dangers of war, demanded international law be adhered to, and called on the security council to "emerge from the Iraq crisis not divided, but united and strong". The SC is broken. Get used to it. However, he was noticeably less determined about opposition to the proposed second US-UK resolution, saying that "we all face a difficult choice". Mr Ivanov said that inspections were "progressing" and that access to sites had been "immediate" and "unimpeded". But he also demanded the "Iraqi leadership must more actively assist" inspections. Is that the sound of the back door I hear opening? I think he's just being even-handed. I think Russia will sit it out and let France say "no." China Efforts should persist to secure a political solution, the Chinese foreign minister, Tang Jiaxuan, said, but he made no threat of the veto in his response. He added: "We need resolve and determination and more importantly patience and wisdom. The road to peace has not been exhausted." Chinese commentators say that whether to use the veto or abstain on a second resolution will be a difficult question for Beijing. While China supports the Russian-French-German statement opposing war, it is anxious not to be left exposed if any or all of the three should modify their position. Naked self-interest. I can respect that. Germany The German foreign minister, Joschka "the Red" Fischer, gave an impassioned "no" to war. While conceding that Baghdad had not cooperated as readily as it might have done, Mr Fischer argued that to abandon the inspections now would be "incomprehensible". It's certainly incomprehensible to you. I find it comprehensible. But then, I've never beat up a cop... He urged the inspectors to take up a suggestion, made by Germany, France and Russia, to specify and prioritise the outstanding problems, then setting precise time frames for their resolution. But if the Iraqis don't meet the time frames, the Weasels will just vote to extend them. Cats-paw.

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