The US & IAEA: A New Partnership?

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will soon hold elections to determine its next Director-General. The nuclear watchdog agency has been led for the past 11 years by Mohamed ElBaradei, a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who helped raise the organization to political prominence. He has also frequently criticized the Bush administration's policies towards Iraq and Iran, as well as championed the goal of eventual disarmament by the world's nuclear powers. Under ElBaradei's leadership, the IAEA has had a strained relationship with the United States, its most important member and funder. The US and IAEA have failed to work together effectively to prevent North Korea's acquisition of nuclear weapons and Iran's acceleration of its nuclear program. The two main candidates to replace ElBaradei, Yukiya Amano of Japan and Abdul Samad Minty of South Africa, offer different styles of future leadership. There has been much speculation that Amano will attempt to depoliticize the IAEA, a desire of western nations, while Minty will continue in ElBaradei's path of outspokenness and champion developing nation's views. While personal leadership is critical, the debate over the candidates' individual views distracts from the more important need for a long overdue discussion on how the United States should engage the IAEA. For all of its shortcomings, the IAEA is and will remain an essential player in international non-proliferation efforts. It is critical that the Obama administration quickly determines how partnering with the IAEA will fit into America's overall nuclear strategy. Once a framework for cooperation is established, a new partnership between the United States the IAEA should be able to accommodate and effectively harness the leadership style of either candidate to the betterment of the international non-proliferation regime.