VIENNA -- When the United States agreed last week to work together with the International Atomic Energy Agency to dismantle Libya's weapons program, diplomats here said it marked a sharp departure from the Bush administration's often stormy relationship with the UN nuclear watchdog.
Ever since the nuclear agency's chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, cast doubt last year on Washington's claims about the extent and scope of Saddam Hussein's alleged nuclear weapons program in Iraq, the White House has been suspicious of the Vienna-based agency. The two have often been locked in public turf battles over who will take the lead in combating nuclear proliferation.
But following successes in curtailing Iran's and Libya's nuclear ambitions and with efforts still underway to persuade North Korea to disarm, officials here say the United States and the international nuclear agency have concluded that it is time to put the animosity behind them and confront together what has fast become one of the top issues in international diplomacy.
"Yes, there were problems with Iraq, but this is 2004, and we have important issues on the table, like Iran, Libya, and North Korea," a Western diplomat in Vienna said. "At a certain time we need to let bygones be bygones. Both sides realize we live or die with each other."
Under an agreement hammered out during three hours of talks Monday among ElBaradei, US Undersecretary of State John Bolton, and British disarmament specialist William Ehrman, Washington and London will provide logistical support for the agency's inspection missions in Libya.
Specifically, the nuclear agency will be in charge of verifying that Libya's weapons program had been properly dismantled, while US and British specialists will carry out the work of physically destroying Tripoli's nuclear capabilities.
Bolton, a frequent critic of the UN nuclear watchdog, called the talks with ElBaradei "very constructive," adding that Washington was "on the same page with the IAEA on this very important project." On Tuesday, agency inspectors arrived in Libya, joining US and British specialists in a tripartite disarmament effort.
Libya's decision to renounce its nuclear ambitions, lauded by President Bush in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, makes it the second Middle Eastern nation to voluntarily come clean about weapons of mass destruction since the Iraq war. Last year, Iran also admitted to conducting covert nuclear experiments in violation of international law and agreed to snap inspections by the nuclear agency to avoid sanctions.
But the newfound success in enforcing nonproliferation still is accompanied by lingering discord between Washington and the UN nuclear watchdog.
So-called neoconservatives in the Bush administration are deeply suspicious of such international organizations, preferring that the United States act unilaterally. The multilateralists, such as Secretary of State Colin Powell, prefer to work closely with the nuclear agency and the UN.
"There are people in Washington who will never forget Iraq and how unhelpful the IAEA was," a Western official close to that agency said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity, as did many of those involved in the secretive world of nuclear monitoring.
"But the vast majority recognize that . . . it is better for them to be honest and disagree with the US than be seen as a marionette," the official added.
Diplomats here also point out that the watchdog agency's effectiveness is often hindered by member states' reluctance to share intelligence with the agency, though they say that cooperation is improving.
The latest cause for tension between the White House and the agency was Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy's renunciation of his nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs Dec. 19. The Libyan's surprise move followed nine months of secret negotiations with Tripoli, involving the CIA and British intelligence, but without the knowledge of nuclear agency officials.
In late December, eight days after Khadafy's announcement, ElBaradei and a team of agency inspectors traveled to the North African nation and inspected nuclear sites.
After meeting with Khadafy, ElBaradei expressed satisfaction with Libya's cooperation with the watchdog agency. The leader of Libya also agreed to sign a protocol allowing intrusive snap inspections, similar to one Iran signed last month.
The White House was not pleased with ElBaradei's initiative, according to media reports citing unidentified US officials. Washington reportedly accused the IAEA of rushing into Libya and insisted that Washington wanted its own inspectors to take the lead in the North African nation's disarmament.
The UN nuclear watchdog had publicly disagreed with Washington and London about the scope of Libya's nuclear program. The agency said that Tripoli was years away from producing a weapon, while the US and Britain insist they are much closer.
The dispute over who would lead Libya's disarmament was resolved when Powell -- who has maintained good relations with ElBaradei, according to officials -- called the agency chief to soothe tensions.
"The fact that Powell called ElBaradei is an indication of his level of support for the agency," said a Western official in Vienna who is close to the situation.
The dispute over Libya echoed earlier controversies between the agency and the United States. In the run-up to the Iraq war, the Bush administration said Hussein had a nuclear weapons program, but the nuclear agency said it had found no proof of such a program.
After Baghdad fell, Washington sent in its own inspectors to look for weapons of mass destruction, thus far with no success, and has ignored ElBaradei's requests that agency inspectors be allowed to return to complete their work.
In November, some US officials also criticized a report on Iran, which criticized Tehran for conducting covert nuclear activities but said there was no conclusive evidence that the country had a nuclear arms program. Ultimately, the watchdog agency's board of governors condemned Iran for its secret nuclear research, but stopped short of hauling Tehran before the UN Security Council, as Washington had demanded.
The true test of how well the United States and the nuclear agency can work together, according to diplomats and officials here, will become clear if there is an opportunity for inspectors to return to North Korea, after being kicked out in 2002.
Officials stress that the United States and the agency bring different and complementary strengths that will be needed in confronting future nonproliferation crises. The agency's expertise is most useful when it is backed up by muscular US diplomacy, intelligence and logistics.
"It is like the police and the fire department," the Western diplomat in Vienna said. "They need to work together."
