Mohamed ElBaradei may be seen as having parallel interests in some ways with the United States in regard to the revolution in and the future of Egypt, but he has been very critical of the role of the United States and specifically of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton, he says, calls the government of President Hosni Mubarak stable; ElBaradei calls it pseudo-stability. Stability, ElBaradei says, only comes with a democratically elected government. He says the Egyptian Parliament is a “mockery.” The Judiciary is not independent. ElBaradei also says that the current government of Egypt has retained for 30 years what were designed as “emergency laws,” following the chilling assassination on Armed Forces Day, 1981, of Anwar Sadat by members of the Muslim Brotherhood. ElBaradei views, he says, social disintegration, economic stagnation, and political repression, and hears nothing from the Americans, nor from the Europeans.
Mohamed ElBaradei mentions Tunisia, and Iran. He says that the West believes the only options in the Arab world are "authoritarian regimes or Islamic jihadists." This he says is “obviously bogus.” “In Egypt, there is a whole rainbow variety of people who are secular, liberal, market-oriented, and [if given a chance] they will organize themselves to elect a government that is modern and moderate. They want desperately to catch up with the rest of the world.” Speaking at a demonstration in Alexandria on June 25, ElBaradei told the crowd, “I am going back to Cairo, and back onto the streets…”
Mohamed ElBaradei has deep and timely interests in areas of nuclear energy, and nuclear proliferation. From December, 1997, until November, 2009, he was the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He was involved in the multi-national inspections in Iraq prior to the crippling strikes by the Western Alliance, and the war that followed. He has also been involved with Iran's nuclear aspirations. He calls for, in all matters, a conduct of activities in a way that is cost-effective and respective of a process with equitable representation, transparency, and open dialogue. He, along with Hans Blix, led a team of UN weapons inspectors in Iraq. Concurrently he disputed at the time U.S. claims supportive of the invasion of Iraq. He avowed that documents purporting to show that Iraq had tried to acquire uranium from Niger were not authentic. ElBaradei further said that "we learned from Iraq that an inspection takes time, that we should be patient, that an inspection can, in fact, work, and that [he had] been validated in concluding that Saddam Hussein had not revived Iraq's nuclear weapons program.”
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Heloise
A new leader is not the biggest problem as I see it. Eventually somebody will take the reins. It's the same problem in so many third world countries...no trickle down, no jobs for the youth.
What about investors and the future of industry in a country dependent on tourism which takes a hit too? Mubarak is not the worse he just stayed too long with US money with no end in sight.
Thundersnow in Chicago. Worse in Chicago history to top 1967 blowout. Glad I'm here but it's cold here too.
Heloise
2 - John Lake
Some are predicting 18 - 24 inches of snow!
Tourism is an important source of revenue in Egypt. I am not too fond of the display of 'mummies', but the thousands of years old artifacts must be protected.
3 - Ruvy
There's no fool like an old fool.
Big Bad Johnny, are you buying into el-Baradei's bullshit because the media peed on him and called him "kosher"?
Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize, too - for what - screwing all those young "pieces" (boys) his Romanian handler brought him?
Sorry, buddy. I see too damned many "heroes" w/ clay feet and grasping claws.
4 - Glenn Contrarian
Yeah, Ruvy, nobody's a hero unless YOU say they are.
You know what? Too much cynicism is every bit as bad as too much naivete.
5 - Clavos
Paraphrasing Wallis Simpson's famous paean to wealth and beauty,
One can never be too cynical or too skeptical...
6 - Christopher Rose
Let's add jaded and misanthropic to the list too!
I couldn't disagree with you more, Clavos. There is nothing at all big or clever about cynicism whilst scepticism has its usefulness if not carried too far.
7 - Clavos
Ah well, Christopher, we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one.
As I've traveled the world over the many decades it's been my misfortune to live on this miserable orb, most of what I have seen has contributed to my cynicism and misanthropy.
I now treasure both.
8 - roger nowosielski
"When you're smiling, when you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you," Clavos.
Anyway, you don't treasure either, just take solace. Big difference.
9 - Glenn Contrarian
With too much cynicism and skepticism comes a dearth of gratitude...and happiness.
That, and if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.
10 - Clavos
That, and if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.
or nothing...
11 - Glenn Contrarian
You know something, Clavos - I really do pity you. To be so hard-bitten, so cynical, so eager to believe that people only do things that are in their personal best interest.
But, friend, there's a lot of people out there who do things not because they're profitable, but because they're the right things to do.
And sometimes they're even politicians.
12 - Ruvy
A colleague of mine wanted to reach out to the revolutionaries in Egypt. He is not a cold or as cynical as I am. He was willing to make the effort. Since he has been a good friend as a well as a colleague, I tried to help him out, sending notes looking for people who might be able to help. My own ability to reach Egyptians is not that good - my contacts go in the opposite direction from Egypt - east, rather than west.
I have received no answers to my efforts - yet.
Am I surprised? No. Am I disappointed? Not really. But in a situation like this, events move quickly, and failure to respond quickly can well result in failure.
Anyway, since a lot of you know me, and I sorta know a lot of you, I'm making this a public appeal. Go to my blogspot to look for my e-mail address and let me OFF-LINE know if you do have credible contacts. I'm not looking for el-Baradei, who is most likely a stooge or cat's paw for someone else. I'm certainly not looking for the filth of the Muslim Brotherhood - they are neither Muslim nor capable of understanding brotherhood. But there are real leaders out there, and there are real opportunities to avoid millions of deaths in war before reaching a reconciliation between the Children of Israel and the Children of Kedar and Nevayot - and even the Children of Egypt.
I will forward messages that may bring peace.
13 - Clavos
You know something, Clavos - I really do pity you.
Thanks, Glenn, but there's no need.
14 - Christopher Rose
Clavos, don't let the dark side claim you. I know you've seen some stuff and more recently had a tough time of it but what is life without love, hope and optimism? Pretty depressing I would say.
You've only got one life, mate, so enjoy it while you can!
15 - Clavos
Thanks, Chris, sincerely.
I'm fine -- I have lots of love, for and from family and friends, and plenty of personal hope and optimism regarding the same family and friends cohort.
I don't live on the dark side, Chris, I really don't; I'm having far too much fun in my private life to succumb to that. Most of the negatives I foresee for the rest of the world will not become reality until long after I'm worm food, and I'm just selfish enough not to care...
16 - Menrit
I'm Egyptian and most of us don't want ElBaradei as a leader or a presdent,Mohamed ElBaradei is not the currently leader of our revolutionary he lived most of his life outside Egypt and when there was a revolution in Egypt he was abrod after the youth said thier words he came back to be a leader.
90% of the Egyptian don't want him.
Ofcourse we don't want Moubark any more but not Bradei cause he will be the same and more.
17 - John Lake
Menrit:
Thank you for your insight.
18 - roger nowosielski
"Al Jazeera English Blacked Out Across Most Of U.S."
An example of American censorship at work.
19 - Jonathan
A question comes to mind. Will these countries Tunisia and Egypt move to a step closer democratic country or else a wrong turn to an Islamic fundamentalist fervent country?
I fear the wrong turn.
20 - zingzing
""Al Jazeera English Blacked Out Across Most Of U.S." An example of American censorship at work."
getting it just fine on the internet... and there's a live feed on youtube. i'm not sure that cable television is the best way to view judge or view (har?) censorship. cable works for profit, nothing else. the internet's still free(ish... just not in canada). and a 2,500% surge in traffic to the website because of said "censorship" suggests that said "censorship" wasn't very effective. and do you really expect the cable companies to pick up aje just because there's a temporary influx of interest in that channel? that would take weeks of negotiations. maybe they didn't like aj before, but you goddamn better think they like the idea now. but it's too late to just switch it on. doesn't work like that. i'd bet that if those execs could have foreseen the numbers of potential viewers, they'd have jumped at the chance. it's not censorship... it's a commercial ship that left the port before the product could get loaded. if this shit keeps spreading, as it seems to be, look out for some serious negotiations. profit is better than censorship, always. even if they'd lose a few zealots, cable companies are going to search for more content rather than less. and according to the updates in the article, it looks like that's happening already.
21 - John Lake
In fact like many of us I am watching the coverage on the changing face of the confrontation right now. The military is apparently not halting the pro-Mubarik forces, many of whom have been found to carry identification revealing that they are government employees.
One hindrance to the cable coverage is the fact that the media is being roughened up and threatened. They are only human, and rightfully fearful. Some are forced to hunker in darkened rooms, as we see in the coverage.
Although the U.S. must be deeply involved because of global interests, Israel interests, economic interests, Obama is showing wise restraint in staying to some extent of other nations internal struggles.
Again, I feel you are wrong about the cable coverage; indeed the world, and the people of America are watching and feeling the pain and fear of the demonstrators. They may be surrounded. They must be tired.
22 - John Lake
If Al Jazeera English coverage is blacked out, I don't at this point know by whom and am not in a position to comment.
23 - handyguy
Some of the coverage on much maligned US news outlets has been pretty remarkable. Richard Engel on NBC and MSNBC, and even Anderson Cooper on CNN. Al Jazeera English is available to anyone with an Internet connection, which is practically everyone who would want to watch it. And the MSM is using a lot of Al Jazeera footage.
24 - roger nowosielski
Poor, unjustly maligned US media, trying their damnedest to do their job for which they get not thanks.
My heart bleeds.
25 - pablo
[Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor]
Now I see why the warmer mongers changed the verbiage from global warming to climate change, that way no matter what the climate does hot or cold it can be blamed on that poison that plants breathe.
As far at the EPA goes, in [edited] Glenn mind I am of the opinion that virtually anything that he himself supports politically can and should be done by executive fiat. To hell with democracy. In fact that is what many of Glenn's fellow warmer mongers are advocating. He knows it, I know it, and so do many others following the hysterical warmer mongers arguments.
Poor Glenn gets more hysterical and irrational by the moment. Man made global warming has been a scam from the word go.