VOA双语新闻 Shortage of Vehicle Armor

Bush administration officials continue to react to a complaint from an American soldier headed for Iraq that U.S. forces deployed¹ for battle there are not getting the vehicle armor they need to protect themselves from attacks. The issue came up during a visit to the troops in Kuwait by Defense² Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Wednesday and continues to reverberate³ around Washington.

在一名即将奔赴伊拉克的美军士兵抱怨战地美军的车辆得不到必要的装甲防护之后，布什政府官员仍在对此做出回应。国防部长拉姆斯菲尔德星期三探访驻科威特美军时，有位士兵当场向他发问，这个问题继续在华盛顿产生震荡。

A U.S. military commander in Kuwait says soldiers headed for Iraq still do not have all the armor they need to protect their vehicles from explosives and mortar⁴ shells being fired at them by Iraqi insurgents⁵ on a daily basis.

一名驻科威特的美军指挥官说，奔赴伊拉克的官兵仍然没有得到他们所需要的全部装甲。伊拉克反叛分子每天都在使用炸弹和迫击炮袭击美军，美军的车辆急需装甲防护装置。

A day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was questioned about the shortages by a soldier who will soon be deployed to Iraq, Army Lieutenant⁶ General Steve Whitcomb told reporters about 2,000 more fully⁷ armored Humvees are still needed. "Our goal and what we're working towards is that no wheeled vehicle that leaves Kuwait going into Iraq is driven by a solder⁸ that does not have some level of armored protection on it," he said.

一名即将调往伊拉克的士兵星期三向国防部长拉姆斯菲尔德提出了部队车辆缺乏装甲的问题。星期四，陆军中将史蒂夫·惠特科姆对媒体表示，美军仍然需要大约两 千辆装甲防护齐全的“悍马”军车。他说：“我们的目标和努力方向是，任何一名 军人驾驶的、离开科威特前往伊拉克的车辆，都不能没有某种程度的装甲防护。”

The Kuwait-based general took questions from reporters at the Pentagon following Wednesday's pointed⁹ exchange between Secretary Rumsfeld and Specialist Thomas Wilson, one of several thousand soldiers headed for battle. "Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap¹⁰ metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-arm our vehicles and why don't we have those resources readily available to us?"

派驻科威特的惠特科姆将军回答了驻五角大楼记者的提问。在这之前一天，即将和几千名军人一道前往伊拉克的专业兵托马斯·威尔逊曾经这样当面质问国防部长拉 姆斯菲尔德：“我们这些当兵的为什么要在当地的垃圾堆里搜寻废铁和用过的防弹 玻璃来给军车加装甲？我们为什么不能有现成的设备呢？”

The question drew cheers and applause from fellow soldiers and criticism, including from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, over the way Secretary Rumsfeld responded. "It's a matter of production and capability¹¹ of doing it. As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time," he said.

他的提问引起现场战友的喝采和鼓掌。而拉姆斯菲尔德部长的回答方式则遭致了批评，一些国会议员也对他的回答表示不满。当时，拉姆斯菲尔德是这样说的：“这 是生产和生产能力的问题。你也知道，你是以你现有的军队，而不是你将来可能想要有的军队投入战争。”

Secretary Rumsfeld said he expects the army to do its best to provide the badly needed armor to protect against the insurgency¹², the strength of which he admits was underestimated.

拉姆斯菲尔德说，他预计美国陆军会尽最大可能向部队提供急需的装甲防护，为频繁遭到反叛分子袭击的军人提供保护。他承认过低估计了反叛分子的实力。

At the White House President Bush told reporters the concerns of soldiers heading into battle are being addressed. "We expect our troops to have the best possible equipment. And if I were a soldier overseas wanting to defend my country, I would want to ask the Secretary of Defense the same question," he said.

在白宫，布什总统对记者说，那些即将奔赴伊拉克战场的军人的顾虑正在得到解决： 我们认为我们的部队应该有最好的装备。而如果我是一名驻扎在海外、希望保卫国 家的军人，我也想向国防部长提同样的问题。”

But critics of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war see the shortage of armored vehicles as an indication that the Pentagon failed to plan adequately for the aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein.

但是，那些对布什政府对伊拉克战争处理方式持批评态度的人认为，装甲车辆的缺乏显示出五角大楼没有能够为萨达姆政权垮台后的战后局势做好充份计划。
 

1 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

2 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。

3 reverberate   

v.使回响，使反响

参考例句：

• The decision will reverberate and will jar the country.这项决定将引起反响并震撼这个国家。
• Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my hear.痛苦呼喊的一遍遍的在我的心中回响。

4 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

5 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

6 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 solder   

v.焊接，焊在一起；n.焊料，焊锡

参考例句：

• Fewer workers are needed to solder circuit boards.焊接电路板需要的工人更少了。
• He cuts the pieces and solders them together.他把那些断片切碎，然后把它们焊在一起。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

11 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

12 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网