2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Meets With Iraqi Shi'ite Leader at White H

By Paula Wolfson
White House
04 December 2006

President Bush had talks at the White House Monday with an influential¹ Shi'ite leader from Iraq, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. VOA White House Correspondent Paula Wolfson reports it is part of an effort by Mr. Bush to reach out to leaders of various Iraqi factions² in hopes of ending the violence plaguing that country.

George W Bush (r) with Abdul Aziz al-Hakim at the White House

The president welcomed Abdul Aziz al-Hakim with warm words, and an admission that not enough has been done to end the bloodshed that has claimed so many Iraqi lives.

"I told his eminence⁴ that I was proud of the courage of the Iraqi people," said President Bush. "I told him we are not satisfied with the pace of progress in Iraq."

Speaking to reporters at the end of their hour-long meeting, Mr. Bush reaffirmed his support for the young Iraqi government. Hakim heads one of the largest parliamentary factions in that government, and the president urged him to continue to seek national unity⁵.

"I assured him the United States supports his work and the work of the prime minister to unify⁶ the country," he said. "Part of unifying⁷ Iraq is for the elected leaders and society leaders to reject the extremists that are trying to stop the advance of this young democracy."

President Bush said he appreciates Hakim's strong stand against the loss of innocent life, noting he knows the pain of losing loved ones only too well.

"This is a man whose family suffered unbelievable violence at the hands of the dictator, Saddam Hussein," continued President Bush. "He lost nearly 60 family members and yet rather than being bitter, he is involved with helping⁸ the new government succeed."

Hakim does not hold a ministerial post in the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. But he has great influence because his faction³ - the Supreme⁹ Council of Islamic Revolution - has men both in parliament and under arms through its military wing, the Badr Brigade.

Hakim said his talks with President Bush focused on ways to advance the work of the Iraqi government, and improve security in the country.

"The U.S. interests, the Iraqi interests, the regional interests, they are all linked," said Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. "Therefore, it is very important when we deal with this issue, we look at the interests of the Iraqi people. If we don't, this whole issue could backfire and could harm the interests of the region, the United States, and Iraq, as well."

He went on to reject the idea of an international conference on Iraq, saying Iraqi issues are for the Iraqi people to solve.

"We cannot bypass the political process," he said. "Iraq should be in a position to solve Iraqi problems. We welcome any effort that could enhance the democratic reality in Iraq and protect the constitutional role of that state."

The meeting with the Shi'ite leader came at a crucial time for the Bush administration's Iraq policy. On Wednesday, a high-level advisory¹⁰ panel authorized¹¹ by Congress will present its recommendations regarding Iraq. And in a matter of weeks, opposition¹² Democrats¹³ will assume formal control of the U.S. Congress.

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

3 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

4 eminence   

n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家

参考例句：

• He is a statesman of great eminence.他是个声名显赫的政治家。
• Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world.这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

7 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 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。

10 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

11 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

12 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。

13 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》