'World is Safer Now,' say US Officials on Anniversary of Ira

'World is Safer Now,' say US Officials on Anniversary of Iraqi Invasion

 

Paula Wolfson

 

The Bush administration is marking Friday's one-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq with a weeklong series of high-profile speeches and broadcast interviews. Three of the president's top advisors² on Iraq spoke³ out Sunday in appearances on American television.

 

All three stressed that one year after the invasion of Iraq, the world is a safer place.

 

White House National Security Advisor¹ Condoleezza Rice told NBC's Meet the Press that Iraq under Saddam Hussein posed a greater threat than North Korea.

 

"I believe to this day that it was an urgent threat. This could not go on and we are safer as a result because today Iraq is no longer going to be a state of weapons of mass destruction concern."

 

In a subsequent interview on ABC's This Week, Secretary of State Colin Powell defended the information used to justify⁴ the invasion. He strongly denied the Bush administration exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq, even though no weapons of mass destruction have been found.

 

"We may not find the stockpiles. They may not exist any longer. But let's not suggest that somehow we knew this. We went to the United Nations, we went to the world, with the best information we had. Nothing was cooked."

 

Secretary Powell emphasized progress in Iraq over the last year, and noted⁵ the country is taking steps toward democracy with a transfer to Iraqi sovereignty scheduled for the end of June. Speaking on the CBS program Face the Nation, Secretary of Defense⁶ Donald Rumsfeld emphasized the country is on the right track, noting the rapid increase in Iraqis joining their new national security force.

 

"We are making very good progress with respect to the Iraqi security forces. There are over 200,000 Iraqis that have been trained and equipped and deployed⁸ and out providing security. There are more Iraqi security forces being killed than coalition⁹ security forces."

 

President Bush will personally mark the one year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq with a speech Thursday at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. On Friday, he will visit with wounded soldiers at an army hospital and will address the ambassadors of countries that have contributed to the U.S.-led coalition that invaded both Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

 

注释：

anniversary [7Ani5vE:sEri] n. 周年纪念

advisor [Ed5vaIzE(r)] n. 顾问

NBC  abbr.  National Broadcasting Company 国家广播公司

pose [pEuz] v. 形成, 引起, 造成

North Korea  朝鲜

subsequent [5sQbsikwEnt] adj. 后来的, 并发的

ABC  abbr. American Broadcasting Company  美国广播公司

Secretary of State Colin Powell （美国现任）国务卿鲍威尔

defend [di5fend] vt. 辩护

stockpile [5stCkpail] n. 库存，仓库

cook [kuk] v. 伪造

on the right track 在正确道路上，方向正确

Iraqi [i5rB:ki] n. 伊拉克人

deploy⁷ [di5plCi] v. 展开, 配置

Afghanistan [Af5^AnistAn] n. 阿富汗（西南亚国家）

1 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

2 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

3 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。

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 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。

6 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。

7 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 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。