IAEA lost what little credibility they had after they claimed Iran's nuclear program is peaceful.
Powell, Chief U.N. Inspector Discuss Who Should Oversee Scrapping of Libya's Atomic Bomb Program
ap.tbo.com
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The United States believes it would be well within its rights to lead the effort to scrap Libya's atomic weapons program, but it wants the debate taken out of the public arena, diplomats said.
The diplomats said Secretary of State Colin Powell has spoken with chief U.N. nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei about resolving differences with Washington.
At issue is whether the International Atomic Energy Agency or Washington should police the destruction of Libya's nuclear arms program, which Tripoli disclosed publicly last month.
Senior U.S. officials have said that will be carried out by a team of American and British experts and suggested the IAEA was poorly informed about the extent of Libya's nuclear activities. One diplomat said ElBaradei was infuriated by "potshots" directed at him and attributed in the U.S. media to unnamed senior administration officials.
Diplomats who follow IAEA activities told AP on condition of anonymity that Powell suggested to ElBaradei that it would be best if public discussion over responsibility ended.
"It was agreed to return to more diplomatic channels of communication," one diplomat said.
However, another said the Americans remained firm in their view that it was their right to take the lead in scrapping Libya's suspect nuclear programs if asked to do so by Tripoli.
"If Libya wants the United States to go in, then the Americans feel they are free to go in," he said.
The diplomats told The Associated Press that Powell's recent telephone conversation with ElBaradei, director general of the IAEA, focused on tensions over Libya between the IAEA and U.S. administration officials already unhappy with the agency's stance on Iraq and Iran.
Over the past year, the Egyptian law professor also has been the target of U.S. accusations that he minimized the nuclear weapons threats from Iraq under Saddam Hussein and from Iran. The United States maintained that both nations were trying to build atomic bombs, which the IAEA disputed.
ElBaradei told AP on Tuesday that the IAEA intends to "do it alone" in destroying Libya's atomic programs. ElBaradei spokesman Mark Gwozdecky reinforced that message Friday, saying policing Libya's nuclear program and stripping it of arms applications was "our exclusive responsibility."
In Washington, a State Department official denied friction with the IAEA, saying the agency has a role to play, along with the United States and the British. But, the official added, "Who does what needs to be worked out."
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's recent acknowledgment that Libya sought weapons of mass destruction and his decision to renounce them - made after months of secret negotiations with the United States and Britain - surprised the IAEA, the U.N. body charged with keeping watch on nuclear programs.
ElBaradei and an IAEA team visited four once-secret nuclear sites in Libya's capital, Tripoli, last weekend. While U.S. officials have suggested that the Libyan program was advanced, ElBaradei said that, from what his team saw, Libya still was years away from developing atomic bombs.
During the trip, ElBaradei met with Gadhafi, who assured the IAEA chief that Libya would cooperate fully with inspections and eliminate its long-secret program, saying he wanted to turn Libya into a "mainstream" nation.
Libya has promised to cooperate with the Vienna-based U.N. agency and said it would sign a protocol allowing intrusive inspections at short notice, similar to the one signed earlier this month by Iran. |
