2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Benefited From Blair Loyalty

By Scott Stearns
White House
26 June 2007

With the departure of Tony Blair this week as prime minister of Britain, U.S. President George Bush has lost his biggest ally in the war in Iraq. While he faced skepticism, and even open hostility¹ from much of the rest of the world over the war in Iraq, President Bush could rely on Tony Blair to stand by him throughout, even as that loyalty² eroded³ Mr. Blair's support at home. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns looks back at the Bush-Blair relationship.

British PM Tony Blair (C) is greeted by US President George W. Bush (L) as he arrives at the White House, 17 May 2007

When it comes to world leaders, there is no one George Bush has relied on more for support and solidarity⁴ than Tony Blair.

When the president stood before Congress following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Mr. Blair was there, sitting beside the First Lady.

"Once again, we are joined together in a great cause," said Mr. Bush.  "I am so honored the British Prime Minister has crossed an ocean to show his unity⁵ with America. Thank you for coming, friend."

Public approval ratings for both men soared as they sent American and British forces against the Taleban in Afghanistan as part of a broadly backed fight against terrorism.

But much of that coalition⁶ failed to come together less than two years later when President Bush pushed for war against Saddam Hussein. Opposed by France, China and Russia, only Britain, among permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, backed the U.S. invasion.

Prime Minister Blair stood by the president at a sparsely⁷ attended pre-war summit in the Azores and during private meetings at Camp David, the presidential retreat.

British PM Tony Blair delivers a speech outside No. 10 Downing Street in central London, 05 Apr 2007

"Our aim is to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and make our world more secure," said Mr. Blair.  "The justice of our cause lies in the liberation of the Iraqi people. And to them we say: We will liberate⁸ you. The day of your freedom draws near."

But public support for both the president and the prime minister began to fade as the war dragged on and no weapons of mass destruction were found.

"People still don't understand what on earth Blair was doing in joining the invasion of Iraq," said Rodney Barker, a professor of government at the London School of Economics.

Mr. Barker says Mr. Blair's allegiance with President Bush was so strong, that the prime minister himself suffered most politically, not his Labor⁹ Party, which remains¹⁰ in power with Gordon Brown taking over as government chief.

"Public opinion was against him. The churches were against him. The military was against him. The pope was against him. Pretty well everybody was against him," he added.  "And he made it his crusade. 'I believe I am right.' The mission-driven politician. Well, that is rather good news for the Labor Party, because it means that people can associate Tony Blair with the war, what they see as George Bush and Tony Blair, not George Bush and New Labor."

Disgruntled Labor members complained that their leader too closely followed Mr. Bush. The president defended his friend against such accusations¹¹ at a joint¹² White House news conference.

George Bush, Tony Blair at White House press conference, July 28, 2006

REPORTER:  "Mr. President, first, the prime minister is sometimes, perhaps unfairly, characterized in Britain as your poodle. I was wondering if that is the way you may see your relationship, and, perhaps, more seriously, do you feel…"

BLAIR:  "Don't answer yes to that question, if you would. That would be difficult."

BUSH:  "I admire him a lot. You know why? When he tells you something he means it."

Although analysts¹³ predict that Mr. Blair's legacy¹⁴ will be tarnished¹⁵ by his support of the Iraq war, President Bush says he does not know what history will make of his partnership¹⁶ with Prime Minister Blair, but he is not concerned.

Prime Minister Blair says he has tried to do what is right, and would ally himself with the president again, if he had to do it over.

Robert Hutchings is a former director of European Affairs on the U.S. National Security Council and is now a diplomat¹⁷ in residence at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

"This was Blair's decision," he noted¹⁸.  "He made a calculation. He has said repeatedly that he firmly believed that he was doing the right thing. I don't have any reason to doubt that he believed that. I think he was wrong. I think the majority of Britons also think he was wrong."

When asked recently if Tony Blair's support for an unpopular war may have led him to step down early, Mr. Bush joked that, as he had not polled the Labor Party, he did not know. After a pause, Mr. Bush added, "could be."

1 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

2 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

3 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

4 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 sparsely   

adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地

参考例句：

• Relative to the size, the city is sparsely populated. 与其面积相比，这个城市的人口是稀少的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ground was sparsely covered with grass. 地面上稀疏地覆盖草丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 liberate   

v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由

参考例句：

• They did their best to liberate slaves.他们尽最大能力去解放奴隶。
• This will liberate him from economic worry.这将消除他经济上的忧虑。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

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 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。

12 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

15 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

16 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

17 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。

18 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。