2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Talks With Iraqi PM in Jordan Delayed

By Scott Stearns
Amman
29 November 2006

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki canceled Wednesday's planned meeting with U.S. President George Bush in Jordan, where the two had been expected to discuss ways to halt the spiraling violence in Iraq. Shortly after Mr. Bush arrived, he went into talks with Jordan's King Abdullah, who had met with the Iraqi prime minister earlier in the day. VOA's Scott Stearns, who is traveling with the president, has this report from Amman.

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King Abdullah II of Jordan, (r), receives US President George W. Bush, (l), upon his arrival in Amman, 29 Nov 2006
President Bush was to have met with the Iraqi Prime Minister and King Abdullah before dinner at the Raghadan Palace.

But Prime Minister Maliki met with the king earlier in the day, so President Bush had one-on-one talks with the king before they were joined by Jordanian and American officials for dinner.

White House officials say President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki will meet for breakfast Thursday before taking questions from reporters.

White House Councilor Dan Bartlett says the schedule change is in no way related to the publication of a classified White House memo¹ that raises doubts about the Iraqi leader.

The New York Times says the November 8 memo from U.S. National Security Adviser² Stephen Hadley expresses serious concerns about the prime minister's capacity to control sectarian violence.

Reacting to the newspaper report, senior White House officials say President Bush is convinced of the prime minister's determination to deal with the fundamental challenges in Iraq, namely security, the economy, political reconciliation³ and regional diplomacy⁴.

While they say Mr. Bush was not pleased the memo was leaked, many of the questions it raises have already been discussed publicly. U.S. officials say much of the action the memo recommends is already taking place.

 
King Abdullah II, (r), meets with Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki, center, and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, (l), in Amman, 29 Nov 2006
For example, they say Prime Minister Maliki is moving against those in the Interior Ministry⁵ and police force who abet⁶ sectarian violence. He has also backed renewing the United Nations mandate⁷ for the multi-national force in Iraq.

President Bush is under increasing political pressure at home to show greater progress in Iraq, especially following his political party's losses in both houses of Congress in this month's elections.

Much of that campaigning focused on the war in Iraq, and some opposition⁸ leaders from the Democratic Party are calling for a reduction of U.S. troops levels there.

Speaking before his talks in Jordan, President Bush said that is a decision for military commanders in the field, not politicians in Washington.

"We'll continue to be flexible, and we'll make the changes necessary to succeed," he said. "But there's one thing I'm not going to do. I am not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete."

As he considers changes to American policy in Iraq, Mr. Bush says he is looking forward to hearing from a bipartisan panel of former U.S. officials studying the issue. Among their recommendations is likely to be wider consultation⁹ with Iraq's neighbors, including Iran and Syria.

 
Iranian supreme¹⁰ leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, meets with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, center, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Asked if he would consider direct talks with those nations, who Mr. Bush says are trying to destabilize the democratically-elected government in Lebanon, the president said Iraq is a sovereign state free to pursue its own foreign policy.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was in Tehran this week for meetings with his counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Ayatollah blamed the violence in Iraq on the United States and its allies, but says Iran is ready to help restore security in Iraq if the government in Baghdad asks.

1 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

2 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

4 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 abet   

v.教唆，鼓励帮助

参考例句：

• Do not abet your friend to pry into other people's privacy.不要唆使朋友去窥探别人隐私。
• Be do grateful to those who rebuke you,because they abet your wisdom!一定要感激那些斥责你的人，因为他们助长了你的智慧！

7 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

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 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

10 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。