IN THE NEWS - Porter Goss Nomination

IN THE NEWS - Porter Goss Nomination¹
By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Saturday, August 14, 2004

This is Steve Ember with In the News in VOA Special English.

President Bush this week nominated Congressman² Porter Goss to be the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The president said Mister Goss is well prepared to reform and strengthen the C.I.A. to meet the threat of terrorism.

Porter Goss is a former C.I.A. case officer. He is now in his eighth term as a Republican congressman from Florida. He stepped down this week as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He became chairman in nineteen ninety seven.

 
Porter Goss
Mister Goss has defended the Central Intelligence Agency against critics. But he himself has criticized the C.I.A. for its performance in Iraq and before the attacks of September eleventh, two thousand one.

Mister Goss is a political ally of President Bush. Still, they have disagreed about how to restructure intelligence gathering³. Mister Goss recently proposed legislation to give the C.I.A. director more control over all fifteen intelligence agencies in the government. But last week Mister Bush called for the establishment of a national intelligence director to supervise the C.I.A and the other agencies.

The new position was one of the main reforms urged by the commission that investigated the September eleventh attacks. However, Mister Bush rejected a call by the Nine-Eleven Commission to make the job part of his cabinet. The president had at first opposed the creation of the independent commission itself. He said committees already existing in Congress were in a better position to investigate the attacks on the United States.

Some observers believe Mister Goss will become national intelligence director once that job is established. The national intelligence director will advise the president on all intelligence issues. That is now the job of the director of the C.I.A.

The nomination of Porter Goss as C.I.A. director must be confirmed by the Senate. The leading Democrat⁴ on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Jay Rockefeller, has said Mister Goss might be too political to head the agency. Senator Rockefeller said it was a mistake to nominate a politician from either political party.

Some Democrats⁵ have criticized President Bush for choosing a politician who has strongly supported the administration's policies. They accuse Mister Goss of seeking to go too slowly on proposed intelligence changes. The congressman said last week that a rush to judgment⁶ is no more acceptable than a needless delay.

A number of Democrats in the Senate have said they will not try to block the confirmation⁷ of Mister Goss. But they also said they would use the hearings as a chance to express concerns about intelligence failures under the Bush administration.

If confirmed by the Senate, Mister Goss will replace George Tenet, who resigned as C.I.A. director last month. John McLaughlin, a C.I.A. official, is acting⁸ director of the agency for now.

In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

1 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。

2 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 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。

5 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》

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。