VOA常速英语2008年-US Lawmakers Criticize Bush Administration Over

By Michael Bowman
Washington
27 April 2008

U.S. legislators of both political parties are criticizing the Bush administration for only recently disclosing intelligence it possessed¹ about an alleged² secret Syrian nuclear reactor³ that Israel bombed last year. From Washington, VOA's Michael Bowman reports.

Last week, senior U.S. intelligence officials revealed that they have long believed that the facility targeted by Israel was a Syrian reactor designed to produce plutonium that had been constructed with the assistance of North Korea. The revelation took many in Washington and beyond by surprise, and is causing deep concern among Republican and Democratic members of Congress.

A key ally of President Bush on Capitol Hill, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Peter Hoekstra, says last week's briefing by U.S. intelligence officials left him with more questions than answers. Hoekstra voiced his concerns about the Syrian facility on CNN's Late Edition program.

"How close was this to being operational? Who funded this for Syria? How close was the North Korean-Syrian cooperation? And where else might North Korea have been involved in proliferation," he asked.

Hoekstra said, had the Bush administration revealed what it knew about the Syrian facility sooner, his committee and other entities⁴ could have probed the matter and possibly arrived at answers before now.

Hoekstra's words were echoed by a Democratic member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Senator Dianne Feinstein said, not only should the Bush administration have been more forthcoming about the intelligence it possessed on the Syrian facility, the intelligence should have been presented to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"I think it should have gone immediately to the IAEA," she said. "That is why the IAEA is there [to investigate]. And by not sharing information immediately, what we do is destroy their verification potential as an independent outside agency."

Feinstein added that she was puzzled by the timing⁵ of the Bush administration's release of intelligence on Syria, coming seven months after Israel bombed the suspected nuclear facility.

In briefings with the news media, U.S. intelligence officials said the delay in disclosure was motivated by a desire to prevent confrontation⁶ and conflict in the Middle East. They said they feared Syria would feel greater pressure to retaliate⁷ against Israel for the bombing if U.S. intelligence about the facility had been made public.

Syria has steadfastly⁸ denied U.S. allegations about the purpose of the facility.

U.S. intelligence has come under greater scrutiny⁹ at home and abroad with many questioning the reliability¹⁰ and accuracy of the information America gathers on its adversaries¹¹ since the lead-up to the 2003 the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

At the time, the Bush administration alleged Iraq was actively¹² pursuing weapons of mass destruction. To date, little if any proof has come to light in Iraq that supports the administration's contention¹³, which served as a primary justification¹⁴ for ousting¹⁵ Saddam Hussein.

1 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。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

4 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

5 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

6 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

7 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

8 steadfastly   

adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝

参考例句：

• So he sat, with a steadfastly vacant gaze, pausing in his work. 他就像这样坐着，停止了工作，直勾勾地瞪着眼。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Defarge and his wife looked steadfastly at one another. 德伐日和他的妻子彼此凝视了一会儿。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

9 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

10 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

11 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

12 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

13 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

14 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

15 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。