VOA标准英语2010年-Tony Blair's Predecessor Criticizes Hi

John Major says the current inquiry¹ into the war raises some very big, important questions regarding the British government's stated aims for invading Iraq

Tom Rivers | London 02 January 2010

 Tony Blair, 9 Dec 2009 (file photo)

Tony Blair's already tarnished² reputation has taken another blow with former prime minister John Major now questioning his successor's motive³ for joining in the invasion of Iraq.

Looking back to the events of nearly seven years, Mr. Major says he - at the time - believed Mr. Blair when he would outline his reasons for going to war.

"I supported the Iraq war because I believed what the prime minister said. I had myself been prime minister in the first Gulf⁴ war and I knew that when I said something I was utterly⁵ certain that it was correct and I said less than I know," he said.  "I assumed the same thing had happened and on that basis I supported reluctantly the second Iraq war."

Interviewed on the BBC, Mr. Major refused to be drawn⁶ on whether he thought that Mr. Blair deliberately⁷ misled the country when he took Britain to war.

Mr. Major said it is for others to judge. A high-powered inquiry into Britain's entry and involvement in the Iraq war is currently under way in London and Mr. Blair will give evidence in the coming weeks.

Just last month, Mr. Blair was asked in a BBC interview what he would have done if he had known that Saddam did not hold any weapons of mass destruction in 2003. His response came up just short of saying he would have made the case for regime change, but he did say he would have had to couch his arguments for British involvement differently.

And that argument, as John Major says, is fraught⁸ with problems.

"The argument that Saddam Hussein was a bad man and therefore must be removed simply will not do," he added.  "There are many bad men around the world who run countries and we do not topple them. And indeed, in earlier years we had actually supported Saddam when he was fighting against Iran. So, the argument that someone is a bad man is an inadequate⁹ argument for war and certainly an inadequate and unacceptable argument for regime change."

Mr. Major says it is imperative¹⁰ for the inquiry to determine whether Blair's cabinet knew that there were serious doubts about whether there actually were any weapons of mass destruction in the weeks and months ahead of the invasion.
 
He adds, concerns about the war here need to be addressed if public trust in British politics was to be restored.

1 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

2 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

3 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

4 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。

5 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

8 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

9 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

10 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。