The Nobel Committee announced Friday that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its director, Mohamed ElBaradei, will share the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. Alex Chadwick speaks with NPR diplomatic correspondent Mike Shuster about ElBaradei, his agency and reaction from the Bush administration, which lobbied to oust ElBaradei when he refused to support claims Iraq was rebuilding its nuclear weapons program.
ALEX CHADWICK, host: This morning, the Nobel Committee announced that this year's peace prize      will be shared by the International Atomic Energy Agency and its      director-general, Mohamed ElBaradei.  The Nobel Committee praised the      IAEA's commitment to a multilateral approach in curbing nuclear weapons.      Speaking to reporters today, Mr. ElBaradei said he sees the Nobel as a      vindication of his leadership in the eight years directing the agency.</s>Dr. MOHAMED ELBARADEI (IAEA): The prize would strengthen my resolve and      that of my colleagues to continue to speak truth to power, to continue to      speak our minds.  We have no hidden agenda except to ensure that our      world continue to be safe and humane.</s>ALEX CHADWICK, host: NPR diplomatic correspondent Mike Shuster joins us.</s>ALEX CHADWICK, host: Mike, Mr. ElBaradei--there he is speaking about a hidden agenda, denying      that there is one.  Tell us about the IAEA's mandate, and how much      authority does it wield?</s>MIKE SHUSTER reporting: Well, the IAEA is one of the UN's various multilateral organizations.      It's based in Vienna; it was started in 1957.  And from 1957 until 1991,      its basic job was to make sure that nations that had some kind of nuclear      infrastructure, civilian nuclear power program, that they were telling      the truth about the nuclear material, where it was and what they were      using it for.  But they did it differently from 1957 to 1991, and they've      done it differently since then.  And that's because the job basically was      for nations to tell the IAEA what they're doing and then for IAEA      inspectors to go in and essentially confirm what nations were telling      them, but not to search for cheating.</s>MIKE SHUSTER reporting: It was learned during the Gulf War, the first Gulf War with Iraq in 1990      and 1991, that Saddam Hussein's Iraq--which was part of the IAEA      system--was cheating and was actually developing a secret nuclear weapon.      And so afterwards, the IAEA got the job of trying to ferret out      cheaters, and this is where Mohamed ElBaradei comes in.  He was an      Egyptian diplomat for many years. He became legal counsel to the IAEA in      the 1980s, and then its head in 1997. And since then, he has worked to      put in place more strict inspection protocol, which they call the      additional protocol, to really get at this issue of who might be      cheating.</s>ALEX CHADWICK, host: And when he says, `We have no hidden agenda,' who's he      speaking to. the Bush administration?  Because didn't this become an      issue in the lead-up to the Iraq War?  Or is he speaking to countries      like Iran and North Korea?</s>SHUSTER: Probably both.  This did become an issue in the lead-up to the      Iraq War.  International Atomic Energy inspectors got into Iraq before      the Iraq War, and ElBaradei came to the UN Security Council and said,      `There is no evidence that we have uncovered a renewed nuclear weapons      program inside Saddam Hussein's Iraq,' and the United States didn't like      this.  And after the Iraq War, last year and into this year, US      diplomats,n probably led by John Bolton who is now the UN ambassador for      the United States, wanted to remove Mohamed ElBaradei from the      director-general's seat.  The United States did not carry the day;      ElBaradei just recently was appointed to a third four-year term.  So he's      probably speaking to the United States, but also to Iran and North Korea,      which has opted out of this system and developing nuclear weapons, that      he will intend to continue to pursue what they're doing, as well.</s>ALEX CHADWICK, host: So if you were looking at this as an international diplomat,      is this award to Mr. ElBaradei also something of a rebuke to the Bush      administration?</s>SHUSTER: I'm not sure that you could say it's a rebuke to the Bush      administration.  It's certainly a reward and a boost to the IAEA and to      ElBaradei's stewardship of it, and it's the Nobel Peace Prize Committee      saying, `Continue this work.  This is important work, and we want to tell      the world just how important it is.'</s>ALEX CHADWICK, host: NPR diplomatic correspondent Mike Shuster.</s>ALEX CHADWICK, host: Mike, thank you.</s>SHUSTER: You're welcome, Alex.