Rumsfeld: ‘Where Are Iraq's Leaders?'

Broadcast: Apr 01, 2003

 

At the height of the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan, defense¹ officials ¹⁾bristled when reporters would ask about the ²⁾whereabouts of al-Qaida leader Osama bin² Laden³ or Taleban head Mullah Mohamed Omar. They would quickly say the anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan was never about any particular individual.

But in the case of Iraq and Operation Iraqi Freedom, it has been Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who has been leading the questioning about whether Saddam Hussein is alive and still in power.

Aides to Mr. Rumsfeld admit it is a form of ³⁾taunting⁴. And the taunting took a sharp turn Tuesday after the Iraqi leader failed to show up in person to deliver a highly anticipated broadcast statement, instead leaving the job of reading it to Iraq's information minister.

"And where are Iraq's leaders?" asked Mr. Rumsfeld. "The night before the ground war began, coalition⁵ forces launched a strike on a meeting of Iraq's senior command and control. And they have not been heard from since. The fact that Saddam Hussein did not show up for his televised speech today is interesting."

One senior Pentagon official theorizes Saddam may have been so badly hurt in the initial coalition airstrike that he could not be put on television convincingly. But Pentagon officials say for the record that they do not know whether Saddam or his sons are alive, dead or incapacitated. What they do know is that none of them has been seen outside of ambiguous videotapes broadcast on Iraqi television.

Additional pieces of the puzzle are surfacing, though. Defense officials note a longtime bodyguard⁶ never before seen away from Saddam's side, showed up last week on Iraqi TV with the country's defense minister. And they say some members of Saddam's family are known to have fled the country or to have tried to.

Now, Mr. Rumsfeld says rumors⁷ have surfaced in Baghdad, spread by unidentified Iraqi officials, that the allied⁸ coalition is interested in cease-fire negotiations¹⁰ and a possible peace deal. Pentagon sources believe it could be a last gasp¹¹ effort by an inner circle close to Saddam to salvage¹² their futures¹³.

But the U.S. defense secretary stresses there can be no deal short of unconditional¹⁴ surrender. "The circumstance of the regime is such that Iraqi officials are spreading rumors that the coalition has entered into a cease-fire negotiation⁹ with the regime, and that there is a third party peace plan under consideration," he said. "Their goal is to try to convince the people of Iraq that the coalition does not intend to finish the job. Since this broadcast is sent into Iraq, let me say this to all Iraqis who are listening: the regime is not telling the truth, there are no negotiations taking place with anyone in Saddam Hussein's regime. There will be no outcome to this war that leaves Saddam Hussein and his regime in power." Despite the doubts being cast about the Iraqi government's grip on power, Mr. Rumsfeld is remaining cautious about encouraging any popular revolts to finish the job started by coalition forces. He said that is a decision Iraqis will have to make for themselves when the time is right.

"And I think that that's a call that the people in Iraq have to make. They're on the ground. It's their lives," he said. "They'll have to decide when they believe that their best circumstance is to join the fight as opposed to preserving their lives as long as they do not see that immediately they can be free and liberated¹⁵."

Meanwhile, intelligence officials suggest that if Saddam is not alive or is incapacitated, then the inner circle running what is left of his government has little future. They believe this group will ⁴⁾succumb¹⁶ to infighting, perhaps even before allied soldiers can move on Baghdad. They also could be ⁵⁾ousted in a coup¹⁷ by disgruntled troops who see no point in dying for a regime that Mr. Rumsfeld says has no future.

Alex Belida VOA news, the Pentagon.

 

1)    bristle[5brisl]vi. 发怒,(毛发等)竖起

2)    whereabouts [5(h)wZErE5bauts]n.下落, 行踪, 所在之处

3)    taunt[tC:nt]n.辱骂, 嘲弄

4)    succumb to屈服

5)    oust[aust]vt. 驱逐,剥夺, 取代

1 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。

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 taunting   

嘲讽( taunt的现在分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落

参考例句：

• She wagged a finger under his nose in a taunting gesture. 她当着他的面嘲弄地摇晃着手指。
• His taunting inclination subdued for a moment by the old man's grief and wildness. 老人的悲伤和狂乱使他那嘲弄的意图暂时收敛起来。

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 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

7 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

9 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

12 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

13 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

14 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

15 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

16 succumb   

v.屈服，屈从；死

参考例句：

• They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
• Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗？

17 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。