2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Seeks to Rally Support for Iraq War

By Scott Stearns
White House
02 September 2006

 
President Bush (file photo) 
  
President Bush wants to convince more Americans that the war in Iraq is central to preventing another terrorist attack inside the United States. Opposition¹ Democrats² say the president should pay more attention to strengthening America's defenses against terrorism.

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President Bush says the security of the civilized³ world depends on defeating terrorists in Iraq.

As the fifth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York and Washington approaches, the president is giving a series of speeches, meant to boost support for a war that public opinion polls say a majority of Americans now believe was a mistake.

Mr. Bush continued that push in his weekly radio address, saying the war in Iraq is more than a military conflict. He says it is the decisive ideological⁴ struggle of the 21st Century.

"On one side are those who believe in freedom and moderation - the right of all people to speak, worship and live in liberty. On the other side are those driven by tyranny and extremism - the right of a self-appointed few to impose their fanatical views on all the rest," he said.

While the president says his current series of speeches on Iraq is not political, the war is central to much of the campaigning for November Congressional elections. Opposition Democrats hope to rally voters against Republican candidates who back the war.

President Bush says his critics do not understand what is at stake.

"Here at home, some politicians say that our best option is to pull out of Iraq, regardless of the situation on the ground. Many of these people are sincere and patriotic⁵ - but they could not be more wrong," he said. "If America were to pull out before Iraq can defend itself, the consequences would be disastrous⁶. We would be handing Iraq over to the terrorists, giving them a base of operations and huge oil riches to fund their ambitions."

If U.S. forces give up the fight in the streets of Baghdad, President Bush says, Americans will face terrorist attacks at home.

 
US Congressman⁷ Bennie Thompson (file photo)
  
In the Democratic radio address, Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson said the Bush administration has failed to sufficiently⁸ secure America's ports, nuclear facilities and transportation systems.

"Despite multiple warnings of future and possible man-made or natural disasters, the Bush administration and the rubber-stamp Republican Congress have failed to adequately prepare our nation, leaving us vulnerable to large-scale disasters," he said.

Thompson, who serves on the House of Representatives' Homeland Security Committee, also criticized the federal government for what he says has been its slow response to help those affected⁹ by Hurricane Katrina one year after the killer¹⁰ storm hit America's Gulf¹¹ Coast.

1 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。

2 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》

3 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

4 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

5 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

6 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

7 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

8 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

11 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。