President Bush Defends Decision to Go to War in Iraq

President Bush Defends Decision to Go to War in Iraq

Scott Stearns

President Bush is again defending his decision to invade Iraq and says he will cooperate with a commission he has established to find out why pre-war intelligence appears to have mistakenly concluded that Iraq had stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.

President Bush says he has given the commission more than a year to complete its work because he does not want their work to be hurried. In an interview with NBC television, Mr. Bush dismissed criticism that he is trying to avoid bad news in an election year by telling the commission not to report back until next March.

"We are in a political season. I fully¹ understand people saying, 'He's trying to avoid responsibility.' There is going to be ample time for the American people to assess whether or not I made good calls, whether or not I used good judgment², whether or not I made the right decision in removing Saddam Hussein from power. And I look forward to that debate."

Some Democrats³ say the president misled the country in making his case for war against Iraq. They want the commission to examine how the Bush Administration used pre-war intelligence to justify⁴ the invasion.

President Bush says the nine-member panel will take a broader look at how U.S. agencies gather intelligence information.

"This is a strategic look, kind of a big picture look about the intelligence-gathering⁵ capacities of the United States of America, whether it be the capacity to gather intelligence in North Korea or how we used our intelligence to learn more information about A.Q. Khan."

CIA Director George Tenet says U.S. intelligence uncovered the illegal weapons business of Dr. Kahn, who brought nuclear weapons to Pakistan.

Despite the apparent shortfalls in intelligence, President Bush says it was the right decision to invade Iraq because Saddam Hussein was a grave and gathering threat who tortured his own people. The president says a new government in Iraq will help spread democracy in the Middle East.

 

注释：

commission [kE5mIF(E)n] n. 委员会，调查团

pre-war [5pri:5wC:] adj. 战前的

interview [5intEvju:] n. 接见，会见

NBC  abbr.  National Broadcasting Company（美国）国家广播公司

dismiss [dis5mis] v. 拒绝接受，不承认

ample [5Ampl] adj. 充足的，丰富的

assess [E5ses] vt. 评定

mislead [mis5li:d] vt. 误导，引入歧途

panel [5pAnl] n. 小组委员会，座谈小组

A.Q. Khan  核研究所，位于巴基斯坦首都伊斯兰堡南部。

CIA  abbr. the Central Intelligence Agency (of the U.S.) （美国）中央情报局

uncover [Qn5kQvE] v. 揭开，揭露

Dr. Kahn  全名A.Q. Khan，巴基斯坦的核弹之父A. Q. 汉。

shortfall [5FC:tfC:l] n. 不足，不足量

torture [5tC:tFE] vt. 折磨

Middle East  中东，包括亚洲西南部国家和非洲东北部国家的地区。

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

3 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》

4 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？

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。