VOA常速英语2007年-Iran, North Korea, Pakistan Top 2007 Nuclear Is

By Meredith Buel
Washington
19 December 2007

A surprising U.S. intelligence report on Iran's nuclear ambitions, a decision by North Korea to dismantle¹ its weapons program and concern over stability in Pakistan were all major news stories during 2007 and dominated discussion regarding nuclear issues during the past year. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel has details in this report from Washington.

In early December a new assessment² that represented the consensus³ view of all 16 American intelligence agencies concluded that Iran had probably halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program, as of mid-2007, remained frozen.

The report represented a sharp reversal of an estimate issued by the same spy agencies in 2005, which said Iran was believed to be working to develop nuclear weapons.

Following the new appraisal⁴, President Bush insisted there would be no change in U.S. policy toward the government in Tehran.

"Iran was dangerous. Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," said Mr. Bush.

Iran is continuing to enrich uranium, a program Tehran says is for producing electricity. Analysts⁶ say the uranium has not yet reached the level of purity necessary for nuclear weapons.

Iran denies having nuclear weapons ambitions.

However President Bush says the new intelligence estimate shows Iran secretly tried to circumvent⁷ the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

"This report is not [saying], okay, everybody needs to relax and quit report," he said. "This is a report that says what has happened in the past can be repeated and that the policies used to cause the regime to halt are effective policies. Let's keep them up, let's continue to work together."

Critics of the Bush administration's policy toward Iran, including opposition⁸ Democrats⁹ in the U.S. Congress, welcomed the intelligence findings and urged the White House to tone down its rhetoric¹⁰ toward Iran.

Illinois Congressman¹¹ Rahm Emanuel spoke¹² for Democrats in the House of Representatives.

"We now have the NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) report on Iran and we can abandon a policy based on hype and fear and go to a policy that is clear-eyed and hard-headed as it relates to Iran," he said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quick to praise the new assessment and declare victory in the dispute over his country's nuclear ambitions.

The Iranian president called the report a step forward and vowed¹³ that Iran would stand firm behind its right to obtain nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

While the Bush administration is still seeking United Nations approval for more sanctions against Iran, senior analysts like Joseph Cirincione of the Center for American Progress say the intelligence report has removed the justification¹⁴ for any military action against the Tehran government.

"It took the military option, the idea that we would attack Iran because of an imminent¹⁵ threat from a nuclear program, not just off the table, but threw it out of the room," he said. There is no one, really, in Washington who believes that the president can order a military strike on Iran or that there is a justification for doing that."

In February, after nearly four years of international diplomatic efforts, North Korea agreed to eliminate its nuclear weapons program.

Pyongyang shut down its main nuclear reactor¹⁶ and has agreed by the end of the year to declare all of its nuclear facilities, materials and existing weapons in return for energy assistance and diplomatic incentives¹⁷.

Earlier this month, President Bush took the extraordinary step of sending a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

"What the president wanted to remind everybody is that the next step in this is a complete and accurate declaration by the North and the president expects it to be accurate," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

Analyst⁵ Joseph Cirincione does not expect full disclosure from North Korea regarding its nuclear program, but does expect enough cooperation to complete the agreement.

"I think North Korea is likely to finish this deal," he said. "I believe that the North Korean leadership are close to, may have already made the strategic decision, that their regime, the stability of their regime, their personal prosperity, is better assured making a deal for the nuclear weapons than in continuing to be a rogue¹⁸ regime trying to pursue these nuclear weapons."

Cirincione says the prospect¹⁹ of al-Qaida or another terrorist organization obtaining and using a nuclear weapon poses the greatest risk to the United States and other countries.

He believes the world is closer to that possibility now than it was at the beginning of this year.

Cirincione says he is most concerned about the situation in Pakistan, which he says has enough nuclear material for up to 100 weapons.

He says the government has been unstable²⁰.

Cirincione says there are strong Islamic fundamental influences in the military and security services and Pakistan has armed Islamic groups operating within its territory.

"Osama bin²¹ Laden²² is in Pakistan. He is closer to getting a nuclear weapon at the end of 2007 than he has ever been before," he said. "Pakistan could go from a major ally to our worst nuclear nightmare overnight. It underscores the importance of controlling these weapons and controlling these materials wherever they are, irrespective of the geopolitical orientation²³ of the countries that have them."

In December, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf reinforced government control of his nation's nuclear arsenal²⁴ by giving the country's National Command Authority, made up of top civilian²⁵ and military officials, complete authority over the research, development and production of nuclear technologies.

Pakistani army officials say the security of the nation's weapons is foolproof and warned against creating what they called "irresponsible alarm."

1 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

2 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 appraisal   

n.对…作出的评价；评价，鉴定，评估

参考例句：

• What's your appraisal of the situation?你对局势是如何评估的？
• We need to make a proper appraisal of his work.对于他的工作我们需要做出适当的评价。

5 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。

6 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。

7 circumvent   

vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜

参考例句：

• Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
• Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。

8 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。

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 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

11 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。

12 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。

13 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

14 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

15 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

16 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

17 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

18 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

19 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

20 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

21 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。

22 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。

23 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

24 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

25 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。