Elbaradei Calls For War Crimes Probe Of Bush Team

Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, the former chief U.N. nuclear inspector suggests in a new memoir that Bush administration officials should face international criminal investigation for the “shame of a needless war” in Iraq, rep “Charles J. Hanley, AP Special Correspondent. 

ElBaradei’s name has been circulated by opposition groups since 2009 as a possible candidate to succeed President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt’s highest executive position

Freer to speak now than he was as an international civil servant, the Nobel-winning Egyptian accuses U.S. leaders of “grotesque distortion” in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, when then-President George W. Bush and his lieutenants claimed Iraq possessed doomsday weapons despite contrary evidence collected by ElBaradei’s and other arms inspectors inside the country, writes Hanley. (For more on Charles Hanley’s story from the Associated Press  )

Mohamed ElBaradei

Image: Henry Holt and Company

The Iraq war taught him that “deliberate deception was not limited to small countries ruled by ruthless dictators,” ElBaradei writes in “The Age of Deception.”  

The 68-year-old legal scholar, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 1997 to 2009 and recently a rallying figure in Egypt’s revolution, concludes his 321-page account of two decades of “tedious, wrenching” nuclear diplomacy with a plea for more of it, particularly in the efforts to rein in North Korean and Iranian nuclear ambitions.

Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei’s book “The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times,” has been moved up to an international publication date of April 26th,  due to recent events and bookseller demand, it was announced today by Metropolitan Books, an imprint of Henry Holt and Company. Originally scheduled for June 2011, the book is Dr. ElBaradei’s account of his three terms as the director general of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, where he found himself at the heart of the world’s most explosive conflicts. For his work toward nuclear non-proliferation and a secure future for the world, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. Metropolitan Books signed the book in March 2010.

“In Egypt this past week, Dr. ElBaradei has again shown the world his commitment to democracy, human dignity, and peace,” said Sara Bershtel, publisher, Metropolitan Books. “His book reveals a long career of independent thought, integrity and courage – the qualities Dr. ElBaradei has displayed so dramatically over these last days.”

“The Age of Deception” is Dr. ElBaradei’s first book. He has been in the forefront of the news from Cairo this week, leading the opposition to President Mubarak’s government.

Mohamed ElBaradei, leader of the National Coalition for Change, has been a major voice for democratic change in Egypt since 2009 and was a significant leader during the recent protests. However, he has a rocky history with the U.S. government and supports some policies that do not support current U.S. foreign policy towards stability in the Middle East. ElBaradei was the Director General of the IAEA from 1997 – 2009. During his three terms, he repeatedly downplayed claims of possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program, which undermined U.S. efforts to press Iran over its safeguards violations.

According to a July 3, 2003 article in Time Magazine, ElBaradei also maintained that Iraq’s nuclear program had not restarted before the 2003 Iraq War, contradicting claims by the Bush Administration. He told the German news magazine Der Spiegel on July 12, 2010 that he wanted to open the Gaza Strip – Egypt border and accused Israel of being the biggest threat to the Middle East because of their nuclear weapons

While speaking at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government on April 27, 2010, ElBaradei joked that he is “looking for a job” and is seeking to be an “agent of change and an advocate for democracy” within Egyptian politics. He also made clear that his wife is not very enthusiastic about any potential run.

On January 27, 2011, ElBaradei returned to Egypt amid ongoing turmoil, with the largest mass protests in 30 years, which had begun two days earlier, on January 25, 2011. ElBaradei declared himself ready to lead a transitional government if that was the will of the nation, saying that, “If [people] want me to lead the transition, I will not let them down.” Subsequently, “when he joined protesters Friday after noon prayers, police fired water cannons at him and his supporters. They used batons to beat some of ElBaradei’s supporters, who surrounded him to protect him.” On January 28, 2011, ElBaradei was reported to have been placed under house arrest in Egypt.  However, the next day, when he was interviewed by Al Jazeera, he said that he was unaware of any such arrest.

Later on, ElBaradei arrived in Tahrir Square to join thousands of other protesters against the Mubarak regime and spoke directly to the people, stating that they “have taken back [their] rights” and that they cannot go back. A number of Egyptian political movements have called on ElBaradei to form a transitional government. ElBaradei has also stated that “the people [of Egypt] want the regime to fall.” In response to the appointment of Omar Suleiman as the new vice president of Egypt, ElBaradei stated that it was a “hopeless, desperate attempt by Mubarak to stay in power. I think [that] it is loud and clear…that Mubarak has to leave today.” Additionally, ElBaradei restated his position that, when Egypt does become a democratic nation, “there is no reason to believe that a democracy in Egypt would not lead to a better relationship with the US based on respect and equity.”

The Guardian reported that ElBaradei has been mandated by the Muslim Brotherhood and four other opposition groups to negotiate an interim “national salvation government.” However, BBC reports that the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition party banned by Mubarak’s regime, has not consented to the choice of ElBaradei as the representative of the opposition. “The people have not appointed Mohamed ElBaradei to become a spokesman of them. The Muslim Brotherhood is much stronger than Mohamed ElBaradei as a person. And we do not agree [that he should represent] this movement. The movement is represented by itself, and it will [appoint] a committee. . .to [delegate its representatives].”