IN THE NEWS - Chief Weapons Inspector Report on Iraq Weapons

IN THE NEWS - Chief Weapons Inspector¹ Report on Iraq Weapons
By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Saturday, January 31, 2004

 

 
David Kay
This is Steve Ember with In the News in VOA Special English.

Former chief United States weapons inspector David Kay has called for an independent investigation² into the United States intelligence failure over weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Mister Kay said he has found no such weapons in Iraq even though he and a number of governments, including the United States, believed they existed. Mister Kay blamed bad intelligence for the failure to find weapons of mass destruction.

Mister Kay said he does not believe Iraq had many nuclear, chemical or biological weapons when American forces invaded the country last year.

The Bush administration noted³ intelligence showing Iraq had such weapons as the main reason for going to war to oust⁴ Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Mister Kay spoke⁵ Wednesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, D-C. He said that people who believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction were almost all wrong. He also said there was evidence that Saddam Hussein had made efforts to disarm⁶ long before President Bush began making the case for war.

However, Mister Kay also noted evidence that Iraq was involved in weapons programs banned by United Nations resolutions.

Some Democrats⁷ have suggested that the Bush administration pressured intelligence experts to shape the intelligence to help President Bush make the case for invading Iraq. But Mister Kay dismissed such comments. He said intelligence experts were never under political pressure.

Democrats also have called for an independent investigation. But Congressional Republicans and the Bush administration oppose such an investigation. They say it could harm intelligence efforts.

Mister Kay said questions about Iraq's possible weapons of mass destruction may never be answered. He said that may be because many documents and other evidence were stolen following the American invasion of Iraq last year.

David Kay was special adviser⁸ to Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet. He was chosen last year as the leader of the Iraq Survey Group, partly because he believed that weapons would be found. Mister Kay resigned last week as the top American weapons inspector in Iraq. He said he did so because resources for the search were being redirected.

In another development this week, a British judge cleared Prime Minister Tony Blair's administration of any wrongdoing over charges he overstated the Iraq weapons threat as a reason for war. Judge Brian Hutton said the British government's understanding of the Iraqi threat came from intelligence officials. The judge denounced the British Broadcasting Corporation for a report accusing the Blair administration of falsely representing the evidence about Iraq's weapons. The chairman of the B-B-C later resigned.

In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

1 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。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 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。

4 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 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。

7 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》

8 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。