American Secretary of State Presented the Most Detailed Argu

 

Broadcast: February 8, 2003
By Cynthia Kirk

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, In The News.

This week, American Secretary of State1 Colin Powell presented the Bush administration's most detailed¹ argument for immediate² action against Iraq.

Mister Powell gave the United Nations Security Council what had been secret information gathered by American intelligence. He said the information provides undeniable2 evidence that Iraq is hiding banned weapons from U-N inspectors³. He also said Iraq's failure to disarm⁴ violates U-N Resolution fourteen-forty-one. The measure requires Iraq to declare all its weapons of great destruction or face serious actions. Mister Powell said the importance of the United Nations itself is in danger if the Council fails to act.

The presentation included satellite pictures that were said to show active chemical weapons storage areas in Iraq. Mister Powell played a recording⁵ of what he said were Iraqi military officers discussing ways to trick U-N inspectors. Another tape was said to contain the voices of two Iraqi officers discussing orders not to talk about nerve agents. He also presented what he said was intelligence that Iraq is attempting to hide its missile production from the U-N.

Mister Powell accused Iraq of supporting and protecting Palestinian terrorists. For the first time, he also discussed American evidence that Iraq has links to the al-Qaida terror group. He said Iraq has provided a safe area and chemical and biological3 weapons training for operatives of Abu Musab Zarqawi. He is reported to have close ties with al-Qaida leader Osama bin⁶ Laden⁷.

Mister Powell said the Zarqawi group was responsible for killing⁸ American aid official Lawrence Foley in Jordan last year. He also said the group's members have been operating freely in Baghdad for the past eight months.

The Security Council invited the Iraqi ambassador to the U-N to provide official reaction to Mister Powell's presentation. Ambassador Mohammed al-Douri denied all of the American accusations⁹. He said Iraq has no weapons of great destruction. He suggested that evidence presented by Mister Powell had been created to build support for war.

The Security Council remains¹⁰ divided on how to deal with the Iraqi situation. The foreign ministers of China, France and Russia all say they want the U-N weapons inspections¹¹ to continue. All three countries have the power to veto a resolution approving force against Iraq.

Only British Foreign Secretary Jack¹² Straw expressed strong support for Mister Powell. Mister Straw said calls for more inspections serve no purpose because Saddam Hussein clearly will not cooperate.

The weapons inspections continue in Iraq. The chief U-N weapons inspectors return to Baghdad this weekend for talks with Iraqi officials. The chief inspectors will meet again with the Security Council next Friday.

This VOA Special English program, In The News, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.
1. Secretary of State n. 国务秘书，国务卿
2. undeniable [5QndI5naIEbl] adj. 不可否认的
3. biological [baIE5lCdVIkEl] adj. 生物学的

1 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 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。

7 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。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。