Science Quote by Mohamed ElBaradei

ElBaradei’s line is diplomacy with a lab coat on: conditional, cautious, and calibrated to keep the political temperature below boiling. The repeated “if” isn’t rhetorical clutter; it’s a deliberate narrowing of what counts as rational action. By tethering “avoid a war” to “continue with our work,” he casts inspections not as a bureaucratic ritual but as a measurable alternative to violence. He’s staking the legitimacy of his institution on a simple premise: verification is a tool, not a pretext.

The subtext is sharper. “Iraq provides full cooperation” places the burden on Baghdad while quietly acknowledging the other actor in the room: Washington, already impatient with timelines that didn’t match its narrative. ElBaradei is trying to preserve a shrinking middle ground where facts can still matter. In early 2003, that space was under assault from certainty dressed up as intelligence. His phrasing offers an exit ramp to leaders who want to look tough while backing away from a predetermined fight.

Scientist by training, he speaks like one: he doesn’t promise peace, he argues for process. “Chance” is the tell. It concedes uncertainty but refuses fatalism, pushing against the idea that war is inevitable or morally cleansing. The intent is not naïve optimism; it’s institutional defense and moral triage. Keep inspections alive a little longer, and you keep alive the possibility that evidence, not momentum, governs the outcome. In a moment built on acceleration, ElBaradei’s power move is insisting on time.