US spying on ElBaradei, seeking to oust him: report

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2004/December/theworld_December338.xml§ion=theworld

WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush’s administration has listened in on phone calls between Mohamed ElBaradei and Iranian diplomats, seeking ammunition to oust ElBaradei as head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency, the Washington Post said on Sunday.

“The intercepted calls have not produced any evidence of nefarious conduct by ElBaradei,” the Post said, quoting three unnamed US officials who had read the transcripts.

“Some people think he sounds way too soft on the Iranians, but that’s about it,” one official was quoted as saying.

The United States wants the UN International Atomic Energy Agency, which ElBaradei heads, to report Iran to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions over what Washington says is a covert nuclear weapons program.

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[Florida_Geek]

1. No leader in the World can trust their phones because of Bush

Can you imagine Clinton tapping people's phone calls and what the RW would say about that.

[Cooley Hurd]

2. An oft-used tactic of the BFEE - blackmail...

Just like they tried with Hans Blix, Kofi Annan, Joe Wilson, etc...

The other oft-used tactic of the BFEE is tinkering with otherwise reliable general aviation aircraft to make them a little less "reliable..."

[LynnTheDem]

3. ILLEGAL. But then, bush & his Cartel don't care about laws.

Not US laws. Not international laws. Not the US Constitution.

bush = HRH George, King of all the World.

[jmatthan]

6. Damned Hope!!

He will never be MY KING!!

I am not a wimp like the Americans who cannot stand up to a CHIMP!!!

Jacob Matthan
Oulu, Finland

[DeepModem Mom]

4. This is an interesting leak -- Powell v Bolton? From the WP article:

"...another official said there is disagreement within the administration, chiefly between Undersecretary of State for Arms Control John R. Bolton, whom aides say is eager to see ElBaradei go, and outgoing Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, over whether it would be worth diverting diplomatic capital that could be better spent on lobbying the board to get tougher with Iran."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57928-2004Dec11.html

[quaoar]

5. Dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1064565#1065272

[struggle4progress]

7. kick for Bushistas unnecessarily making enemies everywhere

:kick: