… the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.
Excerpt from the Will of Alfred Nobel
Congratulations to the International Atomic Energy Agency and its DG Mohamed ElBaradei on winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
I doubt the Administration will be coming out with a congratulatory press release.
Is this the subtle European way of appreciating an agency & its Director that refused to rubber stamp US findings on WMDs in Iraq and now in Iran?
Subtle, it wasn’t.
Arrigo Triulzicalled it “una padellata di ghisa agli americani” — Italian for “a big heavy iron casserole in George’s face.”
But it is awesome. I am glad that Mo gets 24 hours of news cycle to make sure people know about the good work of the IAEA and its fearless DG.
Really great news. I bet that Dubya will love this
Once again the Nobel Committee snubs Bono.
Officially, the prize committee denies that this was another poke at the administration like the Jimmy Carter award a few years ago:
“Ole Danboly Mjopes, head of the prize committee, stressed the award was not intended as a “kick in the shin” of any nation or leader but as a boost to disarmament.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4318388.stm
Condi has put out an official release from the State Department congratulating El Baradei, but I’ve yet to see the White House reaction.
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/54546.htm
Here it is:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20051007/pl_afp/nobelpeaceuswhouse_051007144332
“We congratulate Doctor ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency for winning the Nobel Peace Prize,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
“We also welcome the committee recognition of the importance of stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons as the largest financial contributor to the International Atomic Energy Agency. We strongly support those efforts,” McClellan said.
McClellan noted that the United States had worked to strengthen the IAEA and “greatly expand their tools to detect clandestine nuclear activities.”
He said the United States hopes to continue “to work with Doctor ElBaradei to meet the dangers posed by proliferation, including the threats posed by
North Korea and
Iran nuclear programs.”
Goodness me, the US couldn’t put any better spin on the news than the above?
I would have at least said something about the USA being “instrumental in securing a new term for Dr. El Baradei”. That’s a classic line for this kind of stuff, try to take some of the shine !
So I guess now they need to get El Baradei a nice sex scandal.
It worked for Spence.
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29964