2006年VOA标准英语-Cheney Says America is Winning War on Terror

By Michael Bowman
White House
19 June 2006

Vice¹ President Dick Cheney has defended domestic surveillance and other controversial federal measures to detect potential terrorist threats in the United States. Cheney, who usually shuns² the public spotlight³, spoke⁴ in a rare question-and-answer session with reporters in Washington.

-------------------------------------------

 
Dick Cheney
  

Vice President Cheney says America is winning the war on terror, and that a key sign of success is the fact that no terrorist attacks have been launched on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001.

Cheney says the success is due to two factors. First, the United States has acted aggressively to confront terrorists abroad - what he termed "taking the battle to the enemy overseas." But he also credited domestic efforts to make the United States less vulnerable to attack.

"The terrorist surveillance program has been very important," said Dick Cheney. "We have been engaged in a debate about the wisdom of the program and whether or not it is legal. It clearly is legal, we believe. The extraordinary measures we have taken to defend that nation at home are in no small part responsible for the fact that we have not been hit [attacked] again since 9/11."

Civil liberties groups and others have criticized the federal government's program to monitor domestic telephone calls for possible terrorist activity. The Bush administration has said such surveillance only occurs when at least one party in the phone conversation is believed to be a foreign terrorist operative.

Vice President Cheney was speaking at a Washington awards ceremony for distinguished⁵ members of the news media.

In response to a question from a reporter, he criticized media disclosures about secret government operations relating to national security. He said such disclosures ultimately aid America's enemies, and can make allies reluctant to cooperate with the United States on sensitive matters out of fear of exposure.

Turning to Iraq, the vice president was asked if the Bush administration underestimated the strength of the insurgency⁶ that erupted after U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. He said, "I think so."

"If I look back on it now, I do not think anybody anticipated the level of violence that we have encountered [in Iraq]," he said. "An area where I think we were faced with difficulties we did not anticipate was the devastation⁷ that 30 years of Saddam's rule had wrought⁸ on the psychology⁹ of the Iraqi people."

Cheney said the insurgency has been dealt major defeats by the will of Iraqis to participate in elections, to forge a new constitution, and establish a democratic government representing the country's major ethnic¹⁰ groups.
 

1 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。

2 shuns   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• We must not reproach her, or she shuns us. 我们可不要责备她，否则她要躲避我们。 来自辞典例句
• Any of them shuns, impedes, or attempts at inspection. 一规避、妨碍或拒绝检查。 来自互联网

3 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

6 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

7 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

9 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。