Reply #4: Powell / el Baradei call mentioned (AP) [View All]

[pinto]

Powell, U.N. Discuss Libya Nuke Program

VIENNA, Austria -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has spoken with the chief U.N. nuclear inspector about resolving differences with Washington over who should lead the effort to scrap Libya's nascent atomic weapons program, diplomats said Friday.

The diplomats told The Associated Press that Powell's recent telephone conversation with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei focused on tensions over Libya between the IAEA and U.S. administration officials already unhappy with the agency's stance on Iraq and Iran.

At issue is whether the IAEA or Washington should police the destruction of Libya's nuclear arms program, which Tripoli disclosed publicly last month.

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Senior U.S. officials have said that will be carried out by a team of American and British experts and suggested the IAEA was poorly informed about the extent of Libya's nuclear activities. One diplomat said ElBaradei was infuriated by "potshots" directed at him and attributed in the U.S. media to unnamed senior administration officials.

Over the past year, the Egyptian law professor also has been the target of U.S. accusations that he minimized the nuclear weapons threats from Iraq under Saddam Hussein and from Iran. The United States maintained that both nations were trying to build atomic bombs, which the IAEA disputed.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-nuclear-agency-libya-us,0,2443636.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines