美国国家公共电台 NPR Sept. 11 Revealed The Importance And Limits Of The President's Daily Briefing

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Early on the day of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush received his presidential daily briefing - an intelligence update. President Harry¹ Truman was the first to ask for this daily briefing. Many presidents since would not start their day without it, although some, including President Trump², have questioned the need for it. Here's NPR's Greg Myre.

GREG MYRE, BYLINE³: On September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush was visiting Sarasota Florida. At 8 a.m. sharp, the CIA's Michael Morrell delivered an intelligence briefing, as he did six days a week when the president was at home or on the road.

MICHAEL MORELL: Contrary to press reporting and myth, there was absolutely nothing in my briefing that had to do with terrorism that day.

MYRE: As Morrell concluded, Bush stepped into his waiting motorcade and headed to an elementary school, and that's when news of the terror attacks broke. Soon, they were on Air Force One, and the president wanted answers.

MORELL: And the president said to me, Michael, who did this?

MYRE: Morell didn't know but shared his strong suspicion.

MORELL: When we got to the end of the trail, I was absolutely confident, absolutely certain, that it would take us to bin⁴ Laden⁵ and al-Qaida.

MYRE: Morrell is retired⁶ from the CIA and now hosts the podcast "Intelligence Matters." This landmark⁷ day captured both the critical importance and the frustrating⁸ limits of the president's daily briefing, the PDB. This practice of briefing the president every morning began with Harry Truman in 1946. David Robarge is the CIA's chief historian.

DAVID ROBARGE: He was troubled that he was receiving these random⁹ reports from different departments and no one was telling him what was particularly more important than something else.

MYRE: The first 20 briefings delivered to Truman were just declassified¹⁰. Former CIA Officer David Priess, a member of the briefing team in the early 2000s, wrote a history of the briefings called "The President's Book Of Secrets."

DAVID PRIESS: Many of the issues that President Truman was dealing¹¹ with are still on the agenda today.

MYRE: Like trade disputes with China and tensions on the Korean peninsula and this familiar subject...

PRIESS: The very first general item for Harry Truman was about some false information that was being put out about Russia and the United States.

MYRE: The early briefings were brief indeed; most were short notes from U.S. ambassadors with little or no context. The modern version analyzes¹² the potential pros¹³ and cons¹⁴ of U.S. actions abroad. It evolved under President John F. Kennedy, driven in part by the Bay of Pigs, the failed CIA operation to overthrow¹⁵ Cuba's Fidel Castro in 1961. Again, David Priess speaking via Skype.

PRIESS: We knew that John F. Kennedy was disappointed after the Bay of Pigs debacle early in his presidency¹⁶. That helped spur this new intelligence product for him.

MYRE: One misperception is that all presidents are briefed face to face. But as Rodney Faraon, another former CIA briefer, says...

RODNEY FARAON: Every president receives their briefing differently.

MYRE: For Lyndon Johnson, it was bedtime reading. Richard Nixon allowed just one adviser¹⁷ to see it - Henry Kissinger. Barack Obama took it on his iPad and shared it with more than 30 others. Rodney Faraon's job was to study up on the document as it was finalized¹⁸ overnight, then go to the home of his boss, CIA Director George Tenet, at 6 a.m.

FARAON: I would be briefing him in the secure vehicle on his way from his house to either the White House or to CIA headquarters.

MYRE: It's a grueling job. Here's how Michael Morell recalls his briefings with Bush.

MORELL: I thought I was in graduate school preparing to go in to seven or eight exams every morning with somebody who's going to fire questions at you nonstop.

MYRE: President Trump initially¹⁹ questioned the need for a daily briefing, but Mike Pompeo, the CIA director before recently becoming secretary of state, says it's become part of the president's routine. Here's Pompeo in January.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MIKE POMPEO: Nearly every day, I get up, get ready, read the material that's been presented early in the morning and then trundle down to the White House.

MYRE: David Priess, the former briefer, cites an old CIA expression about briefing presidents and their advisers²⁰.

PRIESS: You can lead policymakers to intelligence, but you can't make them think.

MYRE: That, he says, is a timeless challenge.

Greg Myre, NPR News, Washington.

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

5 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

8 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

10 declassified   

adj.解密的v.对（机密文件等）销密( declassify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thousands of classified documents have now been declassified. 数以千计的保密文件现在被解密了。
• The software used for Siemens S7-300 encryption logic block declassified. 此软件用于对西门子S7-300加密逻辑块解密。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 analyzes   

v.分析( analyze的第三人称单数 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• This approach analyzes management by studying experience usually through cases. 这个学派通常从实例获得经验，用以分析管理。 来自辞典例句
• The econometrician analyzes statistical data. 经济计量学者要分析统计材料。 来自辞典例句

13 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

16 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

17 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

18 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

20 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。