NPR 2010-07-28

President Obama's trying to shore up support for the war in Afghanistan following the unauthorized release of a huge cache of classified documents from the battlefield. As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, Mr. Obama does not want the leaked documents to sidetrack additional funding for the war.

President Obama says he's concerned that sensitive information in the leaked documents could put American forces at a greater risk in Afghanistan. But Mr. Obama insists the documents should not sway House lawmakers as they prepare to vote on a 60-billion-dollar bill to keep funding the war.

"The fact is these documents don't reveal any issues that haven't already informed our public debate on Afghanistan."

Mr. Obama says many of the same concerns outlined in the leaked documents are what led him to call for a new strategy in Afghanistan late last year with tens of thousands of additional troops. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

The Pentagon is unable to account for nearly nine billion dollars that was supposed to be used for reconstruction¹ projects in Iraq. The US Special Investigator² for Iraq Reconstruction released a report that, as NPR's Rachel Martin tells us, details several reasons for the mismanagement.

The biggest problem, according to the report, is that no one agency at the Department of Defense³ was set up to monitor an account for the billions of dollars in Iraqi oil money that was supposed to go to reconstruction. Nine point one billion dollars of that money was set up in a special fund. But according to the inspector⁴ general's report, US officials failed to create bank accounts at the US Treasury⁵ to track how the money was used. The report says that weak oversight⁶ left the funds "vulnerable to inappropriate uses and undetected loss". Pentagon officials responded to a draft of the report, saying they will follow the inspector general's recommendations to strengthen oversight mechanisms⁷ for Iraqi reconstruction funds. Rachel Martin, NPR News, Washington.

BP's newly named chief says the Gulf⁸ oil spill is a wake-up call for the entire industry. American Bob Dudley says safety will be one of the company's highest priorities. He replaces Tony Hayward, the embattled CEO who became the face of BP's flailing⁹ attempts at containing the spill. Today, Hayward said he did the best he could.

"From the beginning of the crisis, I've sought to do the right thing, do it the right way and communicate openly and transparently¹⁰."

Hayward steps down October 1st.

Federal investigators¹¹ are blaming last year's deadly metro¹² rail crash in the Washington, D.C. area on a faulty electronic circuit. But the National Transportation Safety Board also makes note of what it calls an 'anemic safety culture'. In a hearing today, the NTSB said that in June of 2009, a signaling system failed to alert a metro conductor of a stopped train ahead. Nine people were killed; fifty-two were injured.

Last check on Wall Street, Dow was up 13 at 10,529.

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A fiery¹³ closing from Rod Blagojevich's defense attorney today as former Illinois governor fights to escape conviction on corruption¹⁴ charges. NPR's David Schaper at the Chicago courthouse reports the defense told jurors the prosecution¹⁵ simply failed to prove its case.

His voice rising and booming at some moments and dropping off to nearly a whisper to others, defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. acknowledged to the jury that he had promised Rod Blagojevich would testify in his defense, and that the former governor's absence from the stand is the pink elephant to the room. But Adam says when he made that promise at opening statements, "I had no idea that in two months of trial, they", meaning the prosecution, "would prove nothing." As he went through the specific allegations, such as bribery¹⁶ and extortion, Adam frequently became incredulous, yelling, "Come on, and you've got to be kidding" in response to the prosecution's account of how Blagojevich allegedly committed those crimes. Jurors could begin deliberating whether to convict or acquit¹⁷ Blagojevich of 24 counts of corruption charges by the end of the day today. David Schaper, NPR News, Chicago.

NATO confirms that one of the two American sailors, who went missing in Afghanistan last week, is dead. The service member's body was found somewhere in eastern Afghanistan. NATO says it is still searching for the other sailor. Over the weekend, the Taliban said the sailors had strayed into insurgent¹⁸ territory when a firefight broke out. The militants¹⁹ said one sailor was killed and the other captured.

Whilst BP goes through a management shakeup, the company is posting a big loss nearly 11 billion pounds or 17 billion dollars between April and June. That's the largest loss posted in UK history

1 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

2 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

5 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

6 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

7 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

9 flailing   

v.鞭打( flail的现在分词 )；用连枷脱粒；（臂或腿）无法控制地乱动；扫雷坦克

参考例句：

• He became moody and unreasonable, flailing out at Katherine at the slightest excuse. 他变得喜怒无常、不可理喻，为点鸡毛蒜皮的小事就殴打凯瑟琳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His arms were flailing in all directions. 他的手臂胡乱挥舞着。 来自辞典例句

10 transparently   

明亮地，显然地，易觉察地

参考例句：

• "Clearly plots,'said Jacques Three. "Transparently!" “显然是搞阴谋，”雅克三号说，“再清楚不过了。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• All design transparently, convenient for the file identification inside the bag. 全透明设计，方便袋内文件识别。

11 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

13 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

14 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

15 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

16 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

17 acquit   

vt.宣判无罪；(oneself)使(自己)表现出

参考例句：

• That fact decided the judge to acquit him.那个事实使法官判他无罪。
• They always acquit themselves of their duty very well.他们总是很好地履行自己的职责。

18 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

19 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。