US Inspector Concludes Iraq Had No Banned Weapons Before US-

By Deborah Tate

Chief U.S. weapons inspector¹ Charles Duelfer says Iraq had no stockpiles of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons before last year's U.S.-led invasion. The Bush administration cited the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction as a reason for going to war.

Mr. Duelfer presented his conclusions in testimony² before the Senate Armed Services Committee Wednesday. "I do not expect that militarily significant WMD stocks are hidden in Iraq," he said.

But at the same time, Mr. Duelfer lent support to the Bush administration's argument that deposed³ Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein remained a threat. He cited evidence that Saddam had not lost his ambition to pursue weapons of mass destruction, and hoped to revive the weapons program if United Nations sanctions were lifted.

"Those around Saddam seemed quite convinced that once sanctions were ended and all other things being equal, Saddam would renew his efforts in this field," he said.

Mr. Duelfer said Saddam argued that the use of chemical weapons saved his government by halting Iranian ground offensives during the Iran-Iraq war, and by threatening to use chemical and biological weapons, Saddam believes he deterred⁴ coalition⁵ forces from pressing on to Baghdad during the 1991 Gulf⁶ War.

Democrats⁸, including President Bush's Democratic challenger for the White House, Senator John Kerry, have argued Mr. Bush rushed to war with Iraq last year without giving U.N. inspectors⁹ enough time to investigate.

The top Democrat⁷ on the Armed Services Committee, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, used the opportunity to criticize the administration for changing the rationale for war when no weapons of mass destruction were found.

"After the war started, the administration began an effort to change the subject of the debate, from the actual presence of weapons of mass destruction, to WMD programs, then to WMD-related-program activities, and more recently, to speculation¹⁰ about intentions," he said.

But under questioning from the Republican chairman, Senator John Warner of Virginia, Mr. Duelfer said the world is better off now that Saddam Hussein is out of power.

There was a similar line of questioning from Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican. "Is there any doubt in your mind that if Saddam Hussein were in power today, and there were no restrictions¹¹ or sanctions placed on him, that he would be attempting to acquire weapons of mass of destruction, Mr. Duelfer?," asked the Senator.

"To me, that is quite clear," he answered.

Mr. Duelfer drew the conclusions in his report from documents, testimony from Iraqi officials, and debriefings with Saddam Hussein following his capture by U.S. forces.

注释：
inspector 检查员
stockpile 库存
testimony 陈述
Senate Armed Services Committee 参议员军事委员会
administration 管理
revive （使）再生效
sanction 批准
coalition 联合
investigate 调查
Democrat 美国民主党的
destruction 毁灭
debriefing 任务报告

1 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

2 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 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。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 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》

9 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制