VOA标准英语2011--Obama: Mission in Libya is Succeeding

President Barack Obama says the military mission by the United States and its allies to protect civilians¹ and enforce a no-fly zone in Libya is working. The president plans to speak to the American people late Monday about the operation.
President Obama says that one week into the mission, U.S. and allied² forces are successfully protecting civilians from attacks by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces.
"We are succeeding in our mission," he said. "We have taken out Libya's air defenses. Gadhafi's forces are no longer advancing across Libya. In places like Benghazi, a city of some 700,000 that Gadhafi threatened to show ‘no mercy,' his forces have been pushed back."
In his weekly address to the nation, Obama said the joint³ effort is showing results, and Libyan civilians have expressed gratitude⁴.
"Because we acted quickly, a humanitarian⁵ catastrophe⁶ has been avoided and the lives of countless⁷ civilians - innocent men, women and children - have been saved," he said.
The president's message was intended to reassure⁸ Americans about the purpose and effectiveness of the mission in Libya.
A Gallup opinion poll taken Monday shows 47 percent of Americans approve of the operation, while 37 percent disapprove⁹. Separately, a CBS survey indicates that 50 percent of Americans agree with Obama's handling of the situation, while 29 percent do not. Gallup says its approval figure was lower than for other U.S. military campaigns in the past four decades.
White House officials deny criticism by some lawmakers - both Republicans and members of Obama's own Democratic Party - that the president did not seek congressional authorization¹⁰ or adequately consult with lawmakers before embarking¹¹ on the military action.
Some critics contend that Obama did not exhaust all diplomatic options before calling out the military. They also say the U.S. cannot afford the cost of the conflict, and that the nation should not be taking on a mission Libya, when it is already involved in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The White House says urgent and quick action was needed in Libya and the president was well within his constitutional authority to take military action.
The U.S. is transferring leadership of the operation to NATO. Obama said this is how the international community should work, with more countries assuming the responsibility and cost of the effort.
"Our allies and partners are enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya and the arms embargo¹² at sea," said the president. "Key Arab partners like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have committed aircraft. And as agreed this week, responsibility for this operation is being transferred from the United States to our NATO allies and partners."
Obama briefed bipartisan congressional leaders Friday about the situation in Libya and transfer of command and control. The president will explain the mission to the American people in an address from the White House late Monday.

1 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。

2 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

5 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

6 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

7 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

8 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

9 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

10 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

11 embarking   

乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• He's embarking on a new career as a writer. 他即将开始新的职业生涯——当一名作家。
• The campaign on which were embarking was backed up by such intricate and detailed maintenance arrangemets. 我们实施的战争，须要如此复杂及详细的维护准备。

12 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。