U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Wins Nobel Peace Prize

This is from the Los Angeles Times:

OSLO, Norway -- Mohamed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency won the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize today for their drive to curb the spread of atomic weapons by using diplomacy to resolve standoffs with Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programs.

The Nobel Committee's decision lent support to negotiations and inspections, not military action, as the best way to handle volatile nations. It also was seen as a message to the Bush administration, which invaded Iraq after claiming U.N. efforts to eradicate Saddam Hussein's nuclear ambitions had failed and which opposed ElBaradei's appointment to another term.

U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, once the U.S. point man on nuclear nonproliferation and a key opponent of ElBaradei's reappointment, refused to comment when asked if the prize was a rebuff to U.S. strategy.

"I'll stick with the secretary's statement," he said today as he entered the United Nations, referring to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's congratulations.

The Nobel committee said ElBaradei and the IAEA should be recognized for addressing one of the greatest dangers facing the world.

"At a time when the threat of nuclear arms is again increasing, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to underline that this threat must be met through the broadest possible international cooperation. This principle finds its clearest expression today in the work of the IAEA and its director general," the committee said.

ElBaradei said in Vienna, Austria, that the prize "sends a strong message" about the agency's disarmament efforts and will strengthen his resolve to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

This is a huge message that was sent to the White House. President Bush's entire foreign policy was based on the flawed concept that the United States could become a global superpower, reshaping the world to her own image. Bush adopted this policy from the PNAC (People for a New American Century) crowd when he brought most of its members into his administration--Cheney, Wolfowitz, Pearle. The PNAC people wanted to invade Iraq and set up an American protectorate there to project American power in the Middle East. President Bush went right along with the invasion, claiming that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction--even though the UN inspectors never found any weapons! Because of this U.S. invasion of Iraq, we have shown the world that we are now an aggressor nation, which is certainly causing other nations that may fear our power to begin their own nuclear programs--Iran and North Korea are perfect examples. We have not made the world more safer--we have made the world more dangerous through our brash and impulsive actions, through the incorporation of a failed think-tank policy, and through the incompetence of the White House leadership.