IAEA Leader's Phone Tapped (Let's give immunity to the telecoms!)

The Bush administration has dozens of intercepts of Mohamed ElBaradei's phone calls with Iranian diplomats and is scrutinizing them in search of ammunition to oust him as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to three U.S. government officials.

But the diplomatic offensive will not be easy. The administration has failed to come up with a candidate willing to oppose ElBaradei, who has run the agency since 1997, and there is disagreement among some senior officials over how hard to push for his removal, and what the diplomatic costs of a public campaign against him could be.

Although eavesdropping, even on allies, is considered a well-worn tool of national security and diplomacy, the efforts against ElBaradei demonstrate the lengths some within the administration are willing to go to replace a top international diplomat who questioned U.S. intelligence on Iraq and is now taking a cautious approach on Iran.

The intercepted calls have not produced any evidence of nefarious conduct by ElBaradei, according to three officials who have read them. But some within the administration believe they show ElBaradei lacks impartiality because he tried to help Iran navigate a diplomatic crisis over its nuclear programs. Others argue the transcripts demonstrate nothing more than standard telephone diplomacy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57928-2004Dec11.html

Americans who love the Constitution, not so much.

Hekate
:argh:

if left unchecked. Besides they'll just make something up if they want him gone bad enough. On the other hand elBaradei said he'd quit if the US attacked Iran so they might kill 2 million and one birds with one stone, er, bomb(s).



What country is this anyway?

to override the UN Security Council.

...but he is winning the War on the Constitution. I wonder how many congressmen/women and senators have been spied on? Probably all of them.