Truthdig salutes Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the U.N.’s nuclear agency, who warned the world that up to 30 more countries could soon possess the technology necessary to produce nuclear weapons.

ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which runs under the auspices of the United Nations, sounded the explosive warning during an anti-proliferation conference this week. His announcement was an implicit reminder that the U.S. has no moral high ground to lecture other countries against developing WMD when we ourselves continue to build and stockpile such weapons.

ElBaradei won the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize along with the IAEA for “efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way.”

And since winning his award, he has maintained his de facto role as the conscience of the U.N. Last month, he publicly complained that a U.S. House report on Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities was “outrageous and dishonest,” while presenting evidence against the report’s central claims. ElBaradei’s whistle-blowing served as an essential check against the Bush administration’s habit of manipulating intelligence estimates while beating the drums of war.

Learn more about ElBaradei at Wikipedia.

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