Bush and Blair Defend War in Iraq

by Cynthia Kirk
Broadcast: July 19, 2003
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, In the News.
President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair this week defended their decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Mister Blair was in Washington Thursday to speak to both houses of Congress and meet with the president. The two leaders also held a news conference.
Mister Bush and Mister Blair have been close allies on the war in 1)Iraq. Now, they have been dealing¹ with questions about their statements before the war that Saddam Hussein was seeking nuclear material.
In recent days, Bush administration officials have worked to explain the decision to include a line in the president's State of the Union speech in January. That is an important yearly speech that the president gives to Congress and the nation.
In the speech, Mister Bush said the British government had learned that Saddam Hussein tried to buy 2)uranium from Africa. Uranium can be used in a nuclear weapons program.
But documents that appeared to provide evidence for this claim were later found to have been false. The Bush administration says the claim should not have been included in the speech.
The documents were a series of letters reportedly between officials in Iraq and 3)Niger. The letters suggested that Niger would supply uranium to Iraq in a form that could be used to produce nuclear weapons.
After the Niger claim first appeared, the American Central Intelligence Agency sent a retired² 4)diplomat³ to Africa in February of last year to investigate. The diplomat, Joseph Wilson, says he found no evidence that Iraq was seeking uranium from Niger.
The U-N International Atomic Energy Agency had already declared the documents false. British intelligence, however, declared the information about Niger as evidence of Iraq's illegal weapons program.
Prime Minister Blair says he stands by the intelligence report. He says his government had separate sources for the information, and did not use the false documents.
The C-I-A had the Niger claim removed from at least two other speeches. But the claim was kept in the State of the Union speech after administration officials noted⁴ that it came from British intelligence.
The issue has resulted in new questions about the uses of intelligence leading up to the war. Some opposition⁵ Democrats⁶ charge that the Bush administration apparently⁷ tried to win support for the Iraq war by using questionable⁸ intelligence.
C-I-A Director George Tenet has taken blame. He says the sentence should have been removed from the State of the Union speech. He answered questions this week during a 5)Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
During the news conference on Thursday, Mister Bush said again that he still believes the former Iraq government possessed⁹ biological and chemical weapons, and wanted nuclear arms. The president said people must understand it will take time to get answers.
This VOA Special English program, In the News, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

注释：
1) Iraq [i5rB:k] n.伊拉克共和国
2) uranium [juE5reiniEm] n.铀
3) Niger [5naidVE] n.尼日尔(非洲中西部国家)
4) diplomat [5diplEmAt] n.外交官
5) senate [5senit] n.参议院, 上院

1 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。

2 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。

3 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

9 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。