奥巴马寻求国会授权对对叙利亚采取军事行动

 　　WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday that he has decided¹ to take military action against Syria but will first seek authorization² from Congress.

　　"After careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets," the president said in a statement made at the White House Rose Garden.

　　"This would not be an open-ended intervention³. We would not put boots on the ground," he said, echoing a refrain repeated by his administration in the past days. "Instead, our action would be designed to be limited in duration and scope."

　　In a dramatic turnaround, the president said he would first seek authorization from Congress, as demanded by some lawmakers, before acting⁴ to punish Syria for its use of chemical weapons in an attack in the suburbs of Damascus, the Syrian capital, on Aug. 21.

　　"I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives in Congress," he declared.

　　"We should have this debate," he said, with Vice⁵ President Joseph Biden standing⁶ at his side. "I respect the views of those who call for caution, particularly as our country emerges from a time of war that I was elected in part to end."

　　"The issue is too big for business as usual," he added.

　　Congressional leaders have agreed to debate and vote on the administration's action plan, as U.S. lawmakers will return to session on Sept. 9 after a summer break.

　　The United States has five cruise-missile equipped destroyers in the Mediterranean⁷ Sea, and press reports said U.S. military action will involve sea-launched cruise missiles or possibly long- range bombers⁸.

　　In its efforts to build up the case, the White House on Friday released an unclassified U.S. intelligence report, which concluded with "high confidence" that Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons multiple times in the last year, and that the gas attack on Aug. 21 left at least 1,429 Syrians dead, among them 426 children.

　　Obama set a red line over the chemical weapons use a year ago, and he and his administration officials have vowed⁹ to hold accountable the Syrian government headed by President Bashar al- Assad in the past days.

　　"This attack is an assault on human dignity. It also presents a serious danger to our national security," Obama said in his Rose Garden statement. "It endangers our friends and our partners along Syria's borders. including Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq."

　　Britain, however, dropped out of a possible coalition¹⁰ with the United States and France on Thursday as its parliament vetoed against a government action plan, dealing¹¹ a severe blow to the Obama administration's momentum¹² on Syria.

　　Moreover, an NBC News opinion poll released Friday show 50 percent of American voters oppose military intervention in Syria.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

3 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

8 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

10 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。

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 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。