VOA常速英语2008年-Pentagon Report Finds No Direct Saddam-al-Qaida

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
13 March 2008

The U.S. Defense¹ Department has released a study of 600,000 documents from Saddam Hussein's archives concluding that while he supported many terrorist groups he did not have a "direct connection" with al-Qaida. But the department's spokesman says that is not a new conclusion. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

According to the executive summary of the Iraqi Perspectives Project report, Saddam Hussein was concerned that terrorist groups, particularly those with an Islamic viewpoint, could threaten his regime. But the report says he cooperated with them anyway because they attacked his enemy, the United States.

It says under Saddam, Iraq's involvement in terrorism focused on his enemies both inside and outside Iraq, but also extended to support for the families of Palestinian terrorists and a program to develop and build car bombs and to train people on how to use them. The report says, "State sponsorship of terrorism became such a routine tool of state power that Iraq developed elaborate bureaucratic² processes to monitor progress and accountability in the recruiting, training and resourcing of terrorists."

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell says the report shows "a Nazi-esque cataloging of Saddam's ties with terror."

Still, according to the report, researchers have not found any "direct connection" between Saddam and al-Qaida, which carried out the September 11 attacks in 2001 and several other significant attacks on U.S. targets. Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman says U.S. military researchers have reached the same 'no-connection' conclusion in at least two previous analyses of the captured documents.

"This is part of a huge database, which, as it gets translated is being released," said Bryan Whitman. "It came to the same type of conclusion."

Other reports have also reached the same conclusion, including the U.S. September 11th Commission and the Pentagon's Inspector³ General.

The point is important because an alleged⁴ connection between Saddam and al-Qaida was one of the Bush administration's justifications⁵ for the invasion of Iraq five years ago, and the toppling of Saddam's regime.

Foreign Policy Analyst⁶ Olga Oliker at the Rand Corporation research organization says it would not have made sense for Saddam to support groups like al-Qaida that were dedicated⁷ to overthrowing⁸ secular⁹ governments like his own. And she says many other reports, both before and after the U.S.-led invasion, have come to the conclusion that he didn't support those groups.

"I think what's news about it or what's interesting about it is that it is an additional report by a U.S. government agency that refutes an assertion that was made by people in the Bush administration," said Olga Oliker. "It would be really hard to find something that does support what members of the administration had said."

The Pentagon released the three-page executive summary of the Iraqi Perspectives Project on Thursday after reporters complained that the full report's release was being delayed. The Pentagon said the delay is a matter of logistics because the report includes several volumes of material.

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 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

3 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 justifications   

正当的理由，辩解的理由( justification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If he a vulgar person, she does not have justifications for him. 如果他是个低级趣味的人，她早就不会理他了。
• It depends on their effect on competition and possible justifications. 这则取决于它们对于竞争的影响和可能存在的正当抗辩理由。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

8 overthrowing   

v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止

参考例句：

• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship. 他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I always delight in overthrowing those kinds of schemes. 我一向喜欢戳穿人家的诡计。 来自辞典例句

9 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。