U.N. nuclear chief dismisses claims that Iraqi explosives

U.N. nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei
on Friday dismissed as «total junk» accusations that he
timed the release of an Iraqi report on the disappearance
of 342 metric tons (377 U.S. tons) of high explosives to
make it an issue in the U.S. presidential election.
The missing explosives have become a flashpoint in the
final days before Tuesday's election, with Democratic
nominee John Kerry accusing President George W. Bush of
«incredible incompetence» for not securing the dangerous
material and saying the blunder should cost the commander
in chief his job.
A number of political commentators and editorial writers
have questioned the timing of the report, accusing
ElBaradei of trying to boost Kerry's chances against Bush
in next Tuesday's election.
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0038 Local Time
2138 GMT