(NSI News Source Info) VIENNA, Austria - September 15, 2009: The International Atomic Energy Agency named Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano as its new head, ending a protracted struggle between the U.S. and some developing countries over who will succeed Mohamed ElBaradei as chief of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog. 
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) new Director General Yukiya Amano of Japan delivers a speech during the General conference on September 14, 2009 in Vienna. The IAEA on September 14, 2009 formally appointed Yukiya Amano of Japan as its new director general from December 1, succeeding Mohamed ElBaradei. The 150 member states of the UN nuclear watchdog approved Amano -- who has been Tokyo's ambassador to the IAEA -- by acclamation.
On Monday, the IAEA's highest governing body, the 150-nation IAEA General Conference approved Mr. Amano's selection by acclamation. This year, the agency's 35-member Board of Governors, its second-highest body, had rejected Mr. Amano's nomination 10 times, until a shift of one "no" vote to abstention gave Mr. Amano the necessary two-thirds majority in July.
The U.S. and other Western nations backed Mr. Amano's candidacy as director general of the IAEA. But Mr. Amano, who starts his four-year term in December, had to overcome opposition from developing countries, which supported South African Abdul Minty for the top job.
The contest reflected disagreement between the U.S. and other advanced industrial nations, which want the IAEA to police the spread of nuclear technology strictly, and developing countries, which tend to be more sympathetic to demands from nonnuclear states -- including Iran -- that they should be able to use their legal right to make nuclear fuel.
Mr. Amano, a 62-year-old lawyer, has served as Japan's ambassador to the IAEA since 2005, representing an industrial country that has vigorously developed civilian nuclear technology. Fellow ambassadors at the agency say they view Mr. Amano as competent but uninspiring.
The U.S. clashed with Mr. ElBaradei for years over how to strike the balance between Western security concerns and developing nations' desire to acquire nuclear technology.
Mr. ElBaradei, an Egyptian lawyer and diplomat, angered the Bush administration in 2003 by casting doubt on its claims that Saddam Hussein's Iraq was developing nuclear weapons. U.S. officials later tried unsuccessfully to oust Mr. ElBaradei.
In 2005, Mr. ElBaradei and the agency's staff were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to counter the spread of nuclear weapons. Mr. ElBaradei said in a speech to the IAEA's governing body on Monday that he had been vindicated over Iraq.
Relations between the U.S. and Mr. ElBaradei have improved under the Obama administration, which -- like the departing IAEA head -- supports dialogue with Iran.
The U.S. and the European Union have been pressuring Iran to abandon its nuclear-enrichment program. Low-enriched fuel can be used for nuclear power; highly enriched uranium can be used for nuclear weapons.
The Iranian government is thought to possess about enough low-enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon if the fuel were enriched. Iran says it plans to use the uranium for peaceful nuclear purposes, such as electric power generation.
Experts say it could take Tehran years to acquire the know-how to refine the uranium to weapons-grade purity -- an opportunity for diplomacy the Obama administration hopes to seize. The IAEA's central mission is to monitor nuclear facilities around the world, requiring the body to maintain good relations with sometimes difficult partners.
Should international disarmament talks with North Korea prove successful, the U.S., North Korea, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea will ask the IAEA to monitor and report on North Korea's steps to dismantle its nuclear stockpile.
Mr. Amano says he envisions the IAEA as a technical body, not a political one. In an interview this year, he said the agency should monitor nuclear programs to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and promote peaceful uses for nuclear energy. "The IAEA should not be a venue for negotiating disarmament," he said in the interview.
The organization is charged with exposing secret nuclear programs that violate the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which went into effect in 1970.
Under the treaty, Britain, France, Russia, China and the U.S. may retain nuclear weapons -- but must move toward disarmament. In return, a bloc of dozens of nonaligned nations -- primarily developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America -- demand IAEA assistance in obtaining access to nuclear technology for civilian uses. Iran has exploited this inherent tension to garner support for its nuclear program, which it says is purely for peaceful purposes.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) new Director General Yukiya Amano of Japan delivers a speech during the General conference on September 14, 2009 in Vienna. The IAEA on September 14, 2009 formally appointed Yukiya Amano of Japan as its new director general from December 1, succeeding Mohamed ElBaradei. The 150 member states of the UN nuclear watchdog approved Amano -- who has been Tokyo's ambassador to the IAEA -- by acclamation.
On Monday, the IAEA's highest governing body, the 150-nation IAEA General Conference approved Mr. Amano's selection by acclamation. This year, the agency's 35-member Board of Governors, its second-highest body, had rejected Mr. Amano's nomination 10 times, until a shift of one "no" vote to abstention gave Mr. Amano the necessary two-thirds majority in July.
The U.S. and other Western nations backed Mr. Amano's candidacy as director general of the IAEA. But Mr. Amano, who starts his four-year term in December, had to overcome opposition from developing countries, which supported South African Abdul Minty for the top job.
The contest reflected disagreement between the U.S. and other advanced industrial nations, which want the IAEA to police the spread of nuclear technology strictly, and developing countries, which tend to be more sympathetic to demands from nonnuclear states -- including Iran -- that they should be able to use their legal right to make nuclear fuel.
Mr. Amano, a 62-year-old lawyer, has served as Japan's ambassador to the IAEA since 2005, representing an industrial country that has vigorously developed civilian nuclear technology. Fellow ambassadors at the agency say they view Mr. Amano as competent but uninspiring.
The U.S. clashed with Mr. ElBaradei for years over how to strike the balance between Western security concerns and developing nations' desire to acquire nuclear technology.
Mr. ElBaradei, an Egyptian lawyer and diplomat, angered the Bush administration in 2003 by casting doubt on its claims that Saddam Hussein's Iraq was developing nuclear weapons. U.S. officials later tried unsuccessfully to oust Mr. ElBaradei.
In 2005, Mr. ElBaradei and the agency's staff were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to counter the spread of nuclear weapons. Mr. ElBaradei said in a speech to the IAEA's governing body on Monday that he had been vindicated over Iraq.
Relations between the U.S. and Mr. ElBaradei have improved under the Obama administration, which -- like the departing IAEA head -- supports dialogue with Iran.
The U.S. and the European Union have been pressuring Iran to abandon its nuclear-enrichment program. Low-enriched fuel can be used for nuclear power; highly enriched uranium can be used for nuclear weapons.
The Iranian government is thought to possess about enough low-enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon if the fuel were enriched. Iran says it plans to use the uranium for peaceful nuclear purposes, such as electric power generation.
Experts say it could take Tehran years to acquire the know-how to refine the uranium to weapons-grade purity -- an opportunity for diplomacy the Obama administration hopes to seize. The IAEA's central mission is to monitor nuclear facilities around the world, requiring the body to maintain good relations with sometimes difficult partners.
Should international disarmament talks with North Korea prove successful, the U.S., North Korea, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea will ask the IAEA to monitor and report on North Korea's steps to dismantle its nuclear stockpile.
Mr. Amano says he envisions the IAEA as a technical body, not a political one. In an interview this year, he said the agency should monitor nuclear programs to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and promote peaceful uses for nuclear energy. "The IAEA should not be a venue for negotiating disarmament," he said in the interview.
The organization is charged with exposing secret nuclear programs that violate the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which went into effect in 1970.
Under the treaty, Britain, France, Russia, China and the U.S. may retain nuclear weapons -- but must move toward disarmament. In return, a bloc of dozens of nonaligned nations -- primarily developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America -- demand IAEA assistance in obtaining access to nuclear technology for civilian uses. Iran has exploited this inherent tension to garner support for its nuclear program, which it says is purely for peaceful purposes.
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