Iraq Rejects President Bush's 1)Ultimatum

Broadcast: Mar¹ 18 2003

Iraq has rejected President Bush's ultimatum² that Saddam Hussein and his sons leave the country by mid-week or face a U.S.-led invasion.

Saddam Hussein and son Uday turned down President Bush's ultimatum to depart Iraq by Thursday and Iraqi state television said the country is prepared to defend itself against an invasion.

The response came only hours after President Bush told the world he was giving the Iraqi leader 48 hours to leave the country or face the prospect³ of war. "The tyrant⁴ will soon be gone. The day of your liberation is near," Mr. Bush said.

The president met Tuesday with Defense⁵ Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in what was described as a last-minute planning session.

Public opinion polls in the wake of the president's speech indicated that Mr. Bush had ²⁾bolstered domestic support for disarming⁶ Iraq by force.

Members of Congress from both political parties are rallying behind the president, but a number of Democrats⁷ remain critical of the president for abandoning a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

This is the Senate Democratic Leader, Tom Daschle of South Dakota. "I'm saddened, saddened that this president failed so miserably⁸ at diplomacy⁹ that we are now forced to war,"

Overseas, reaction to the Bush ultimatum has been mixed.

In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair sought to win over ³⁾skeptical¹⁰ members of his own Labor¹¹ Party in the House of Commons. "Yes, it is true Iraq is not the only country with weapons of mass destruction. But I say to the House [of Commons], back away from this confrontation¹² now and future conflicts will be infinitely¹³ worse and more ⁴⁾devastating in their effects," Mr. Blair said.

France and Germany condemned¹⁴ the ultimatum, saying the threat posed by Iraq does not justify¹⁵ war at this time. Both Russia and China said diplomatic efforts on Iraq should continue despite the growing threat of war.

But there was support for the U.S. position as well. Japan said the U.S. ultimatum to Saddam Hussein was unavoidable and Australia offered to send troops to join U.S.-led coalition¹⁶ forces.

If President Bush does order an invasion of Iraq, U.S. military officials say they are ready to proceed.

Air Force Secretary James Roche said on NBC's Today program. "We're ready. We have been ready for a while and we are ready now. We have about 700 aircraft in the area and we have about 35,000-40,000 airmen there. And we are set. We are ready to go," About 300,000 U.S. and British troops are now in the Persian Gulf¹⁷, watching the hours tick by as they await orders from their commanders.

Jim Malone VOA NEWS, Washington.

 

1)    ultimatum [7Qlti5meitEm]n.最后通谍

2)    bolster[5bEulstE]v.支持, 援助

3)    skeptical [5skeptikEl]adj.怀疑性的,好怀疑的,

4)    devastate[5devEsteit]vt.毁坏

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

3 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

4 tyrant   

n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

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 miserably   

adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地

参考例句：

• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
• It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

10 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

11 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。

12 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。

13 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

14 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

15 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

16 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。

17 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。