2006年VOA标准英语-Iraq, Terrorism Dominate US Election Campaign

By Jim Malone
Washington
27 September 2006

Less than six weeks before U.S. congressional elections in November, Republicans and Democrats² are engaged in a furious debate over which party would do a better job in Iraq and in protecting the country from terrorism.

In the latest twist in the election-year debate, opposition³ Democrats seized on a report prepared by U.S. intelligence agencies on the war on terror.

The report, known as the National Intelligence Estimate, said the Iraq war has become a rallying cause for jihadists and has bred deep resentment⁴ of the United States in the Muslim world.

 
Sen. Carl Levin 
Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat¹ from Michigan, has been a leading critic of the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq.

"According to these reports, it is our intelligence agencies that confirm what the administration has long denied, that the Iraq war itself is fueling the spread of terrorism in this world," he said.

But the intelligence report also said that promoting democracy in the region could help undermine extremists. And White House officials said the report bolstered⁵ President Bush's view that victory in Iraq would deal a demoralizing blow to the jihadists.

"This government is going to do whatever it takes to protect this homeland," the president said. "We are not going to let their excuses stop us from staying on the offense⁶. The best way to protect America is to defeat these killers⁷ overseas so we do not have to face them here at home."

 
Bill Clinton 
The intense debate over Iraq and terrorism has also been fueled by former President Bill Clinton. In a recent interview on Fox television, Mr. Clinton criticized Bush administration efforts and offered a combative⁸ defense⁹ of his efforts to kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin¹⁰ Laden¹¹.

"But at least I tried. That is the difference between me and some, including all the right-wingers who are attacking me now," the former president noted¹². "I got closer to killing¹³ him than anybody has gotten since. And if I were still president, we would have more than 20,000 troops there trying to kill him. But you know we do have a government that thinks Afghanistan is only one-seventh as important as Iraq."

Clinton said the Bush administration did little to go after al-Qaida in the months before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

 
Condoleezza Rice 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Clinton's claim was flatly false and that the Bush White House had been at least as aggressive as the Clinton administration in seeking out bin Laden.

Recent public opinion polls suggest Republicans may be benefiting from a renewed focus on national security in the election campaign, following a series of speeches by President Bush.

Mindful that public support for the Iraq war has eroded¹⁴ domestically, the president and Vice¹⁵ President Dick Cheney are trying to convince Americans that Iraq is the central front in the overall war on terrorism.

 
Dick Cheney 
"For the sake of our security, this nation must reject any strategy of resignation and defeatism in the face of determined¹⁶ enemies," the vice president said.

Political analysts¹⁷ say it is no surprise that Republicans are trying to refocus public attention on terrorism and national security.

Norman Ornstein, an expert on politics at the American Enterprise Institute, says Republicans are trying to duplicate the success they had with the issue in the 2004 presidential election and the 2002 congressional elections.

"For the third time in a row, it is pretty clear that Republicans are going to use the national security, homeland security issue as their hole [strong] card," he said. "It is the best one they have got. It may be the only one they have got. But it is also one in which you can overplay that hand."

But some analysts also note that Democrats are trying to be more aggressive this year in rebutting¹⁸ Republicans on national security.

E.J. Dionne is a columnist¹⁹ for the Washington Post newspaper and an expert on government and politics at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

"So I think the end result is that after three weeks in which President Bush largely controlled the agenda, it shifted the other way toward the Democrats, toward [the issue of] Iraq in particular, and questions about the president's handling of terror." he said. "And so, for the time being, it is a shift in the Democratic direction.

The campaign debate has intensified²⁰ largely because the political stakes in this year's election are significant. A gain of 15 seats would give Democrats control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994.

Democrats need to gain six seats to retake control of the Senate.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

5 bolstered   

v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句

6 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

7 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

8 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

15 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。

16 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

17 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

18 rebutting   

v.反驳，驳回( rebut的现在分词 )；击退

参考例句：

• The union countered with letters rebutting the company's claims. 工会写信驳回了公司的要求。 来自辞典例句

19 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

20 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》