2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Says Al-Qaida in Iraq Threatens America

By Paula Wolfson
White House
24 July 2007

President Bush is stressing the link between al-Qaida and Iraq, as he seeks to build support for his war policy.   VOA White House correspondent Paula Wolfson reports Mr. Bush says terrorists in Iraq pose a direct threat to the security of the United States and must be defeated.

President George Bush makes remarks during lunch with the troops at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina, 24 July 2007

President Bush is trying to drive home the point that al-Qaida in Iraq is not a separate entity¹, but part the terrorist network run by Osama bin² Laden³.

In a speech to American military personnel in Charleston, South Carolina, Mr. Bush cited newly released intelligence information on the men at the top of al-Qaida in Iraq.  He said they are mostly foreigners with strong ties to bin Laden's organization.

"Al-Qaida in Iraq is a group founded by foreign terrorists, led largely by foreign terrorists, and loyal to a foreign terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden," Mr. Bush said.

The president took issue with critics who claim terrorists are active in Iraq as a result of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ousted⁴ Saddam Hussein.   He said al-Qaida struck the United States on September 11th 2001, long before the start of military operations in Iraq.

"Our action to remove Saddam Hussein did not start the terrorist violence," Mr. Bush said.  "An American withdrawal⁵ from Iraq would not end it.  The al-Qaida terrorists now blowing themselves up in Iraq are dedicated⁶ extremists that have made killing⁷ the innocent the calling of their lives."

President Bush said an American pull-out from Iraq would only make the violence worse, and would provide al-Qaida with a new base of operations to launch attacks on the United States.

"Al-Qaida is in Iraq.  They are there for a reason.  And surrendering the future of Iraq to al-Qaida would be a disaster for our country," Mr. Bush said.

Once again, Mr. Bush urged the U.S. Congress and the American people to give his policies more time to work.  And he urged skeptical⁸ lawmakers to provide the money needed to fund continuing military operations.

"For the security of our citizens, and the peace of the world, we must give (U.S. Commander in Iraq) General (David) Petraeus and his troops the time and the resources they need so they can beat al-Qaida in Iraq," Mr. Bush said.

Sen. John Kerry hold up a copy of a National Intelligence Estimate report entitled: "The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland," Tuesday, 24 July 2007, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington

On Capitol Hill, prominent Democrats⁹ quickly took issue with President Bush's comments.  Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts said the president put forward - what he called - "a false rationale" for continuing the war.

"The fact remains¹⁰ unchanged that the only way the Iraqis are going to stand up is if we make clear to them that we are going to be withdrawing our troops over a period of time with the exception of those necessary to chase al-Qaida, those necessary to complete the training, and those necessary to protect American forces," Kerry said.

Meanwhile, a new poll shows strong public dissatisfaction with the way both President Bush and Democrats in Congress are dealing¹¹ with Iraq. 

The Washington Post-ABC News survey of 1,125 respondents indicates that 68 percent of Americans disapprove¹² of the president's Iraq policy.  Sixty three percent of those polled gave negative marks to the way Democrats in Congress have handled the war.  But by a large margin¹³, those surveyed said they trust Democrats rather than the President to find a solution to the conflict.

1 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

2 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

3 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

4 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 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。

9 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》

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

13 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。