President Bush Reacts to US Intelligence Reform Proposal

By Paula Wolfson

President Bush says he will consider all kinds of ideas to reform the nation's intelligence community, including the sweeping¹ plan put forward by a key senator. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts says bold action is needed to restructure all the agencies involved in intelligence-gathering.

Senator Roberts took the White House and most of his congressional colleagues by surprise when he announced the plan on national television.

"This is a very bold plan. As I said, we didn't pay any attention to turf or agencies or boxes," he said. "We said all right, what are the national security threats that face this country today in an asymmetrical² world and what do we face down the road."

His proposal calls for a complete restructuring of U.S. intelligence operations, including taking functions away from the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense³ Department and putting them under a new national intelligence director.

Senator Roberts told the CBS television program Face the Nation that he is open to modifying the plan and sees it as a basis for negotiations⁴. He said it already has the endorsement⁵ of all eight Republicans on the Senate intelligence panel.

"We have an urgent need to move, but we have got to get it right," he said. "This was not an idle thing. This was actually proposed by eight other members of the intelligence committee. It is at least a marker to start the debate."

He said the proposal builds on the work of the commission that investigated the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. President Bush has embraced many of the commission's recommendations, but has not advocated the kind of sweeping changes suggested by Senator Roberts. When asked about the Senator's plan by reporters at his Texas ranch⁶ the president said he is willing to consider all sorts of ideas.

"Senator Roberts is a good, thoughtful guy who came up with an idea and we will look at it," the president said. "We will take a look at it and determine whether or not it works or not. But there are going to be a lot of other ideas too as this debate goes forward."

Members of the 9/11 Commission are also studying the Roberts' proposal and are expected to give their views on Wednesday. However, officials from agencies that could be affected⁷ by the restructuring are already speaking out.
The director of the new Terrorist Threat Integration⁸ Center is among those urging caution. John Brennan was questioned about the matter during an appearance before a congressional panel.

"It is an extraordinary complex task to transform the intelligence community as well as the CIA itself," he said. "I think any effort to do that really needs to be a thoughtful one, a careful one, after considered options and thorough discussion."

Some top Democrats⁹ in Congress are raising similar concerns, and say they fear the Republicans want to push through partisan¹⁰ legislation. Democratic presidential nominee¹¹ John Kerry has welcomed the Roberts plan, but his campaign has also warned that any attempt at intelligence reforms must be totally bipartisan.

注释:
sweeping 规模大的
put forward 提出
congressional 国会的
bold 大胆的
asymmetrical 不对称的
panel 座谈小组
recommendation 建议 
extraordinary 非常的
bipartisan 两党连立的

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 asymmetrical   

adj.不均匀的，不对称的

参考例句：

• Most people's faces are asymmetrical.多数人的脸并不对称。
• Folds may be gentle and symmetrical,or sharp and asymmetrical.褶皱可以是平缓而对称的，也可以是陡峭而非对称的。

3 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。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

6 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

9 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》

10 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

11 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。