IAEA Head - US On Iran Sounds Like "Pre-War Iraq"

By Cernig

In the same week that Bush and his cheerleaders both in and out of uniform were pushing for more patience to allow their plans to work in Iraq, they've been yelling for impatience over international negotiations with Iran.

Mohammed el-Baradei, a man who said there were no WMDs in iraq and thus earned BushCo's everlasting emnity, isn't fooled.

In an apparent swipe at Washington, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog warned Friday against rhetoric in the Iranian nuclear standoff that he called "a reminder of pre-war Iraq."

Mohamed ElBaradei, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the IAEA has a reasonable timetable for Iran to come clean on past nuclear activities, but detractors were not giving the IAEA's efforts a chance to work.

The U.S. suspects Iran's uranium enrichment program is geared toward producing nuclear weapons and says that all options, including new UN sanctions and military action remain on the table.

Alluding to that U.S. position, ElBaradei warned against rhetoric that is "a reminder of pre-war Iraq" in comments to reporters in Vienna.

"We have not seen any weaponization of their program, nor have we received any information to that effect - no smoking gun or information from intelligence," he said.

"Based on the evidence we have, we do not see . . . a clear and present danger that requires that you go beyond diplomacy."

No clear and present danger, no smoking gun, no signs of weaponization even. No wonder the War Party want rid of him.