ElBaradei Says Opponents Seek to Discredit Him

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei has alleged that his opponents are attempting to discredit him by questioning his impartiality in Middle Eastern-related affairs, Agence France-Presse reported Saturday (see GSN, Feb. 10).

In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel published yesterday, ElBaradei, who is Egyptian, said he has been accused of being biased in favor of Muslim countries that might be operating nuclear programs.

“There’s a real campaign against me, trying to drag me through the mud,” he was quoted as saying (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Feb. 19).

Meanwhile, IAEA Board of Governors Chairwoman Ingrid Hall is expected to present by the end of the month a report on whether to extend ElBaradei’s tenure as head of the agency to a third term. The board will need to decide on the issue before June so the new agency chief can be approved by the IAEA General Conference, according to the Kuwait News Agency (Kuwait News Agency, Feb. 21).

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