美国国家公共电台 NPR--U.S. Senate is set to repeal the war authorization for the 2003 Iraq war

U.S. Senate is set to repeal¹ the war authorization² for the 2003 Iraq war

Transcript³

Twenty years after the Iraq War began, the Senate is on track to vote this week to repeal the authorization that justified⁴ the 2003 invasion.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Twenty years after the Iraq War began, the Senate is on track to vote this week to repeal the authorization that justified the 2003 invasion. Senate Democratic whip Dick Durbin argued in favor of the repeal on the Senate floor.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DICK DURBIN: Let me be clear. Nothing we're doing here prevents an American president from acting⁵ in self-defense or in the face of imminent⁶ threats to our American nation.

MARTIN: Supporters say repealing⁷ the authorization will reassert the role of Congress in deciding when to start and end wars. NPR political correspondent Susan Davis has been covering the debate, and she's here with us now to tell us more. Good morning.

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE⁸: Good morning, Michel.

MARTIN: So U.S combat operations ended in Iraq in 2011, and yet it's been more than a decade and - before Congress has decided⁹ to take this step. What took so long?

DAVIS: Well, there really has been bipartisan support for this on Capitol Hill for years. In the Senate, it's been led by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia and Republican Senator Todd Young of Indiana. And what Kaine said recently is there was really disinterest from - during the Obama administration and outright¹⁰ opposition¹¹ from the Trump¹² administration. But President Biden says he'll - he supports it, and he'll sign it if it reaches his desk. So there's a supermajority of support in the Senate. It's basically just taken this long for the political stars to align¹³ in its favor. The legislation also repeals¹⁴ the 1991 war authorization that justified the first Gulf¹⁵ War under former President George H.W. Bush.

Michel, these are largely symbolic¹⁶ votes, but supporters of the action say it really is about Congress reasserting this war power authority, which structurally¹⁷, over decades, has sort of crept towards the executive branch, particularly after the September 11, 2001, attack.

MARTIN: And, you know - and about that - I mean, after the 2001 attack, Congress passed another war authorization essentially¹⁸ to hunt down terrorists around the world. That's still on the books. And it's been used by four presidents now to conduct counterterrorism operations. Has Congress shown any interest in addressing that longstanding authority?

DAVIS: Yeah. I mean, in the Senate debate, they - it was brought up and it was rejected. Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky is a Republican. He offered an amendment¹⁹ that would have sunset that 2001 AUMF in six months. That would give Congress time to sort of revise it or rewrite it. That was overwhelmingly rejected. Just nine senators voted in favor of doing that. Republican Utah Senator Mike Lee offered another amendment that would require every AUMF to be reauthorized every two years at the start of every new Congress. Likewise rejected, only - like, handful of senators supported; 76 voted against that. What I think that says is there's actually very little interest in Congress in reining²⁰ in not just the 2001 AUMF, but anything that would, you know, structurally make real-time decisions back in the hands of Congress. They're much more comfortable with these symbolic votes.

MARTIN: I'm wondering whether this Senate debate has demonstrated any reflection or regret about the impact that the Iraq war had on the country.

DAVIS: You know, the tone of it has largely been very forward-looking, sort of almost optimistic. Kaine and others now acknowledge - say Iraq is a strategic partner in the region, that they're not an adversary²¹ anymore. But Dick Durbin of Illinois, he was one of 22 Democrats²² who voted against it in 2002. And he spoke²³ to those costs yesterday.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DURBIN: No nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction were ever found. We were never greeted as liberators. Iraqi oil didn't pay for the damage, the $2 trillion cost of the war. American taxpayers²⁴ paid for it. More than 4,500 U.S. service members died in the conflict in Iraq.

DAVIS: Michel, dozens of Republicans are expected to vote against the repeal today. Their opposition is less about the AUMF. They say it just sends the wrong message to the Middle East that it would seem that the U.S. is now disengaging from the region.

MARTIN: That is NPR political correspondent Susan Davis. Susan, thank you so much.

DAVIS: You're welcome.

1 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

2 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

7 repealing   

撤销，废除( repeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In addition, repealing the alternative minimum tax would also help. 此外，废除替代性最低税也会有所帮助。
• Repealing the investment tax credit. 取消投资税款扣除。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

11 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。

12 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

13 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

14 repeals   

撤销，废除( repeal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The measure repeals a previous law that prevented local governments from targeting specific breeds for sterilization. 这项法令的出台将废止之前一项限制地方政府针对某种犬类采用绝育措施的法律。

15 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。

16 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

17 structurally   

在结构上

参考例句：

• The house roof was (structurally) unsound. 这屋顶（结构）不牢固。
• Pinhole on shot-hole damage is never structurally significant. 针孔和蛀洞所造成的危害对结构的影响不大。

18 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

19 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

20 reining   

勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的现在分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理

参考例句：

• "That's a fine bevy, Ma'm,'said Gerald gallantly, reining his horse alongside the carriage. "太太！好一窝漂亮的云雀呀！" 杰拉尔德殷勤地说，一面让自己的马告近塔尔顿的马车。
• I was a temperamental genius in need of reining in by stabler personalities. 我是个需要由更稳重的人降服住的神经质的天才。

21 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

22 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》

23 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。

24 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。