VOA标准英语2010年-Britain's Prime Minister Testifies on

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says it was right to go to war in Iraq in 2003, but laments¹ the loss of life and mistakes made.  Mr. Brown testified for over four hours before a public inquiry² panel about Britain's role in the conflict and its aftermath.

Mr. Brown left little doubt from the outset about his support for the Iraq invasion.

"This is the gravest decision of all to make a decision to go to war," said Gordon Brown. "I believe we made the right decision for the right reasons."

And he said the right reasons were Saddam Hussein's refusal to comply with UN resolutions and the demands of the international community.

"We cannot have an international community that works if we have either terrorists who are breaking these rules or in this case, aggressor states that refuse to obey the laws of the international community," he said.

Gordon Brown was treasury³ chief in the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair at the start of the Iraq war. He became prime minister in June 2007 when Mr. Blair stepped down and he presided over the withdrawal⁴ of British forces from Iraq.

There have been allegations that as treasury chief, Mr. Brown cut military spending before the 2003 invasion and did not provide adequate funding for military equipment. Not so, said the former Chancellor⁵.

"I'd already made it clear that the military option had to be one that was best for the military and that the Treasury would not in any way interfere⁶ and suggest there were cost grounds for choosing one option against another.  That was not our job," said the British PM.

Mr. Brown added that throughout the war no request for military equipment was turned down because of cost.

He was queried⁷ by panel members about the government's decision to go to war and subsequent decisions on the conduct of the war and its aftermath.

He also spoke⁸ about what went wrong, mainly with post war reconstruction⁹.

"I said that we had to plan properly for that," stated Gordon Brown. "But, let us be honest, we couldn't persuade the Americans that this had to be given the priority that it deserved."

Mr. Brown also said that in future conflicts greater international support and coordination¹⁰ should be secured.

Britain sent over 45,000 troops to Iraq in 2003 to help topple Saddam Hussein.  One hundred seventy-nine British military personnel were killed in the conflict.

British troops have been withdrawn¹¹ from Iraq, but some 10,000 are now serving in Afghanistan, fighting alongside U.S. and NATO forces.

Mr. Brown said lessons have been learned.

"We now know that cannot win the peace simply by military action, you need to engage the people or Iraq or any other country, you need to give them the chance of political empowerment at some stage, you need to have strong security forces and you need economic development," he said.

Those lessons said, Mr. Brown, are being applied¹² in Afghanistan.

Britain's involvement in the Iraq war was deeply unpopular at home and remains¹³ a highly divisive issue.

Former prime minister Blair testified before the same inquiry panel in January. His adamant¹⁴ defense¹⁵ of the war and saying he had no regrets rankled¹⁶ many.
 
In his opening statement Gordon Brown also defended the war, but he also paid tribute to the military personnel and civilians¹⁷ killed and injured in the conflict.  
 

1 laments   

n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

2 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

5 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

6 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

7 queried   

v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问

参考例句：

• She queried what he said. 她对他说的话表示怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"What does he have to do?\" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

8 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。

9 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

10 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

11 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

12 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

15 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。

16 rankled   

v.（使）痛苦不已，（使）怨恨不已( rankle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her comments still rankled. 她的评价仍然让人耿耿于怀。
• The insult rankled in his mind. 这种侮辱使他心里难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。