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US First Lady Laura Bush, pictured in September 2008, said Sunday she was "not amused"
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First Lady Laura Bush wasn't amused when an Iraqi reporter threw his shoes at the president during a news conference in Baghdad this month.
“It was an assault,” she said. “And the president laughed it off, he wasn’t hurt, he’s very quick as you know he’s a natural athlete and ducked it, but on the other hand it was an assault.”
But despite her unhappiness, the first lady saw an upside to the Dec. 14 event.
“As bad as the incident is, in my view, it is a sign that Iraqis feel a lot more free to express themselves,” she said.
"I know that if Saddam Hussein had been there the man wouldn't have been released, and probably would've been executed," she said of the Iraqi journalist, who was arrested following the Dec. 14 incident and has been in custody since.
Bush also said she disagrees with critics who have deemed her husband’s presidency a failure.
Bush noted that during her husband’s presidency the country has been safe from terrorist attacks since September 11, that the administration toppled dictators in Iraq and Afghanistan and provided treatment for disease to millions in sub-Saharan Africa. She criticized the media, particularly the coverage of the response to Hurricane Katrina which she described as being “not really factual." Early reports gave the "misimpression" that 10,000 residents died in the 2005 storm, said Bush. An estimated 1,800 people died in the storm and the flood.
“Do I think the press is fair? No, absolutely not,” she said.
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(Agencies) |
本月在巴格達(dá)舉行的一次記者招待會(huì)上，一名伊拉克記者向美國總統(tǒng)布什投擲了“鞋彈”，這令第一夫人勞拉?布什大為不悅。
她說：“這是人身攻擊。總統(tǒng)先生一笑了之，他沒有受傷，你知道他天生就是當(dāng)運(yùn)動(dòng)員的料，身手矯捷躲過了它。但從另一個(gè)角度說，這就是一次人身攻擊。”
盡管極為不悅，第一夫人還是從本月14日這起“鞋彈事件”中看到了積極的一面。
她說：“在我看來，盡管這件事很糟，但可以看出伊拉克人民享有了更多的表達(dá)自由。”
她說：“我知道如果薩達(dá)姆?侯賽因還當(dāng)政，扔鞋的人不會(huì)被釋放，也許早就被處決了。”制造“鞋彈事件”的記者在事后一直被關(guān)押。
勞拉還表示她不同意某些批評(píng)人士說他丈夫是個(gè)失敗的總統(tǒng)。
勞拉指出，在他丈夫的任期內(nèi)，自9?11事件后美國再?zèng)]有受到過恐怖襲擊。美國政府推翻了伊拉克和阿富汗的獨(dú)裁政權(quán)，并為撒哈拉以南非洲國家的數(shù)百萬貧民提供醫(yī)療援助。
她指責(zé)媒體報(bào)道常有失偏頗，特別是對(duì)卡特里娜颶風(fēng)救災(zāi)不力的報(bào)道不實(shí)。勞拉稱此前媒體將2005年卡特里娜颶風(fēng)的遇難人數(shù)誤報(bào)為1萬人，而實(shí)際上據(jù)估計(jì)死于此次颶風(fēng)和洪災(zāi)的人數(shù)為1800人。
她說：“我會(huì)覺得媒體公正嗎？不，完全不會(huì)。”
（英語點(diǎn)津 實(shí)習(xí)生許雅寧 編輯） |
