2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Nominates Air Force General to Head C

By Michael Bowman
White House
08 May 2006

President Bush has nominated Air Force General Michael Hayden to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, days after the surprise resignation of director Porter Goss. 

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President Bush listens to Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, left, speak at White House, Monday  
  

President Bush says General Hayden is well qualified¹ to head the CIA, as a man with more than 20 years of experience in intelligence work, including six years as director of the National Security Agency.

"Mike knows our intelligence community from the ground up," Mr. Bush says. "He has been both a provider and a consumer of intelligence.  He has overseen² the development of both human and technological³ intelligence.  He has demonstrated an ability to adapt our intelligence services to the new challenges of the war on terror.  He is the right man to lead the CIA at the critical moment in our nation's history."

Since April, 2005, Hayden has served as deputy director of national intelligence.  In recent years, he oversaw⁴ a controversial operation that involves eavesdropping⁵ on electronic communications between people in the United States and suspected terrorists abroad.  

Civil rights groups and others have criticized the operation as an infringement⁶ on Americans' liberty and right to privacy.  The general has insisted the program is vital to detecting terrorist threats.

Speaking from the Oval Office, President Bush said he expects General Hayden to continue reforms at the CIA begun by Porter Goss, whose reasons for stepping down have not been made pubic.  Mr. Bush praised Goss' tenure⁷, and said the CIA's work has never been more important to the security of the American people.

When he took the podium, General Hayden paid tribute to CIA employees.

"To the men and women of the Central Intelligence Agency, if I am confirmed, I would be honored to join you, and work with so many good friends," he said. "Your achievements are frequently under-appreciated and hidden from the public eye.  But, you know what you do to protect the republic."

The Senate must confirm Hayden's nomination⁸.  Some legislators, including a few from President Bush's Republican Party, have voiced concerns about putting a military officer at the head of a civilian⁹ agency. 

Speaking with reporters, Hayden's current superior, National Intelligence Director John Negroponte, downplayed those concerns.  He noted¹⁰ that Hayden has worked for civilian entities¹¹ in the past and described the general as an "independent" thinker.

Negroponte said the administration's goal is not to militarize America's information-gathering capability¹², but rather to make sure that civilian and military intelligence operations work hand-in-hand.

"Obviously, we have to work together with the military [on intelligence matters].  The watchword for intelligence reform is, after all, 'integration¹³.' And that means integration of all of our elements of government that work on intelligence," Negroponte said. "And we are also in a war, so it stands to reason that we have to work very closely with the Pentagon and with the armed services in our intelligence activities, and we do precisely¹⁴ that."

Negroponte said, going forward, U.S. intelligence priorities include disrupting terrorist organizations and monitoring nations seeking weapons of mass destruction. 

1 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

2 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

3 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

4 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

5 eavesdropping   

n. 偷听

参考例句：

• We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
• Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。

6 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

7 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

12 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

13 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

14 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。