Bolton Effort to Oust ElBaradei Fails

The New York Times reports on Thursday that a year-long effort led by John Bolton to deny Mohammad ElBaradei another term as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has proven ineffective. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Rice commented "'we have worked well with Dr. ElBaradei in the past.' She said she looked forward to discussing with him 'his vision for what the I.A.E.A. will be in these next extremely important years.'"

David Sanger and Steven Weisman's Times piece adds:

"A senior administration official, parsing Dr. Rice's careful wording, said her comments were intended to indicate that President Bush's aides were prepared to put aside their objections and try to work with Dr. ElBaradei on several issues, particularly the American and European effort to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons.

Within the administration, and also among Europeans and others involved in trying to influence the atomic energy agency, the end of the effort to oust Dr. ElBaradei was seen as a defeat for John R. Bolton, until recently the under secretary of state for arms control and international security and now the nominee to be United Nations ambassador.

Mr. Bolton had convinced his colleagues at the State Department and the White House that Dr. ElBaradei should be ousted, but administration officials said he had failed to win international backing or to persuade anyone with comparable credentials to step forward to replace him."

John Bolton: ineffective diplomat extraordinaire, who clearly has what it takes to make America's case. Just what we need at the United Nations. This nomination smells worse and worse every day.