横田さん、ブッシュ大統領に会う

President Meets with North Korean Defectors and Family Members of Japanese Abducted by North Korea

THE PRESIDENT: I have just had one of the most moving meetings since I've been the President here in the Oval Office. I met with a mom and a brother who long to be reunited with her daughter and his sister. They're apart because the North Korean government abducted the child when she was a teenager. And all the mom wants is to be reunited with her daughter.

It is hard to believe that a country would foster abduction. It's hard for Americans to imagine that a leader of any country would encourage the abduction of a young child. It's a heartless country that would separate loved ones, and yet that's exactly what happened to this mom as a result of the actions of North Korea. If North Korea expects to be respected in the world, that county must respect human rights and human dignity and must allow this mother to hug her child again

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ホワイトハウスのサイトには、大統領本人の音声クリップが聞けます。

１．完了形の使い方を確認しよう。
I have just had one of the most moving meetings since I've been the President here in the Oval Office.
という表現がでてきます。通例、現在完了形の文章でsince以下には「過去形」になることを学習しましたが、ここでブッシュ大統領がsince以下でも現在完了を使っているのは、大統領がその期間ずっと大統領であった事実を表現するためにこの様な形になっています。

翌日(29日）、ブッシュさんは、イラクの問題についてラジオ演説しています

[最後の部分]
There will be more tough fighting ahead in Iraq and more days of sacrifice and struggle. Yet the enemies of freedom have suffered a real blow in recent days, and we have taken great strides on the march to victory. Iraq's leaders now have laid the foundations for a democratic government of, by, and for the Iraqi people. By helping the Iraqi people build their democracy, America will deal the terrorists a crippling blow and establish a beacon of liberty in the Middle East -- and that will make our Nation and the world more secure.
ここで、大統領は、16代大統領Abraham Lincolnの演説を「パクって」いました。どの部分でしょうか。
それはともかくこの部分でも現在完了が使われています。

最後に、イラク戦争が家族から子供を奪い、子供から親を奪った事実もしっかり頭に入れておいてください。

4月30日、ニューヨークの人々は、イラク戦争に反対するTens of Thousands人のデモをしました。
Tens of Thousands in New York March Against Iraq War
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Thousands of people marched through Lower Manhattan yesterday to demand America's withdrawal from Iraq, the latest in a series of antiwar protests held in New York City and around the country during the past several months.
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