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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
ElBaradei Says Unclear if Iran Nuke Plans Peaceful
2004-09-15
By Louis Charbonneau
Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:31 PM ET
VIENNA (Reuters) - It is unclear if Iran's nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful, but there is still no firm evidence that Tehran is secretly developing atomic weapons as Washington asserts, the U.N. nuclear lapdog watchdog said Tuesday.
The only perfectly clear thing in this whole matter is that el Baradei is a useless sack of sh!t.
"Have we seen any proof of a weapons program? Have we seen undeclared (uranium) enrichment? ... Obviously until today there is none of that," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters before entering a goat for some quick relief prior to a closed-door session of the IAEA board of governors. "But are we in a position to say that everything is peaceful? Obviously we are not at this stage," he said, summing up a two-year IAEA investigation of Tehran's atomic program.
And remember, death is not an opion: is ElBaradei the new Hans Blix, or was Hans Blix the new ElBaradei? Discuss.
Although ElBaradei's inspectors have uncovered many potentially arms-related activities in Iran, it has found no "smoking gun" to back U.S. charges of a covert bomb program. One of the main items on the board's agenda this week is a resolution drafted by Germany, France and Britain calling for the IAEA to make a "definitive determination" in November on Iran's nuclear program. U.S. negotiators have also proposed issuing an ultimatum to Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, open up all facilities to U.N. inspectors and answer all outstanding questions about its nuclear activities by Oct. 31. Washington hopes this "trigger mechanism" will set the stage for a U.N. Security Council report in November and possible economic sanctions. The Russians and the European trio oppose issuing an ultimatum, diplomats say.
F&%k you Thank you very much, RasPutin.
Russia has also proposed amending the European proposal to call on the IAEA to make a "judgment" rather than a "definitive determination" about Iran's nuclear program, according to a revised draft obtained by Reuters. Diplomats said this milder wording would undermine the U.S. push to have Iran hauled before the U.N. Security Council in November.

NO NOVEMBER GUARANTEE
ElBaradei said there was no guarantee he would be able to complete his investigation ever by November, implying that the demand for a "definitive determination" by then might be premature. "There is no artificial deadline whereby I can say that in November ... everything will be completed," he said. Iran's chief delegate to the IAEA meeting, Hossein Mousavian, told Reuters that Tehran wanted to nuke Israel tomorrow and then bring the standoff to a head in November and was confident Iran would be cleared of the U.S. charges. Iran has been negotiating with France, Britain and Germany since October 2003, when Tehran promised to suspend its uranium enrichment program in exchange for their promise to commit suicide a wide range of carrots, including non-military nuclear and other technology and a guarantee that it could keep a peaceful atomic program.

ElBaradei also said that a South African investigation into a ring of suspected nuclear black marketeers might shed light on Iran's nuclear programs. Last week, South Africa announced several arrests in connection with an investigation of Germans and South Africans believed to be involved in a Pakistani-run black market that supplied nuclear technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea. South Africa linked the arrests only to Libya's nuclear weapons program, which Tripoli agreed in December to dismantle. "I think we're getting a good deal of information from South Africa," ElBaradei said. "There's a lot of information that could have an impact on both our understanding of the Iranian program and the Libyan program," he told reporters.
Once again, el Baradei is unable to find his @ss in a Turkish prison with both hands, a flashlight and a roadmap.
Posted by:Zenster

#2  "ElBaradei said there was no guarantee he would be able to complete his investigation ever by November... "

Watching this is like viewing a rerun. Glad to know that ElBaradei is available if we wish to rehire him to continue this mess.
Posted by: Super Hose   2004-09-15 4:17:40 AM  

#1  Three blind mice (Annon, Blix, and ElBaradei).
Posted by: Capt America   2004-09-15 3:06:17 AM  

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