2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Gets Iraq Study Group Report

By Paula Wolfson
White House
06 December 2006

President Bush, right, holds a copy of the Iraq Study Group report as Group Co-Chairman Lee Hamilton looks on, 6 Dec. 2006

President Bush has received the report of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group - a panel of foreign policy experts set up by Congress to scrutinize¹ the situation in Iraq and draft recommendations for change.  We have details from VOA's Paula Wolfson at the White House.

Members of the Iraq Study Group arrived at the White House before dawn to deliver their report to the president.

"This report gives a very tough assessment² of the situation in Iraq.  It is a report that brings some really very interesting proposals and we will act in a timely fashion," Mr. Bush says.

They met for about an hour.   Afterwards, they appeared briefly³ before reporters.

"We have got men and women of both political parties around this table who have spent a lot of time thinking about the way forward in Iraq and the way forward in the Middle East, and I cannot thank them enough," Mr. Bush says.

The president did not talk about specifics of the report, and is not expected to do so until the White House has had time to take a close look at all the recommendations.

Republican James Baker⁴, a former secretary of state, and Democrat⁵ Lee Hamilton, a former congressman⁶ who once chaired the House International Relations Committee, led the 10-member commission.

The panel spent months assessing the situation in Iraq and drafting proposals for shifts in diplomatic and military strategy.  The White House cooperated with the commission, and said repeatedly that it welcomed its recommendations. 

But officials also made clear that the administration is conducting its own review of Iraq policy, and the Iraq Study Group's report is just one source of advice reaching the president.

As he received the report, President Bush vowed⁷ to take it very seriously, and urged members of Congress to do the same.

"This report will give us all an opportunity to find common ground for the good of the country - not for the good of the Republican Party or the Democrat Party, but for the good of the country," Mr. Bush says.

After the meeting, White House spokesman Tony Snow said the report does not call for an immediate⁸ withdrawal⁹ of U.S. troops from Iraq, and includes no firm timetable for an American withdrawal.  He also said it urges the Bush administration to engage directly with Iraq's neighbors, Iran and Syria.

That suggestion could get a cool reception from the Bush administration.  White House officials have indicated they are not interested in engaging Iran and Syria, although they have said the Iraqi government has every right to do so.   And the president has said repeatedly that U.S. troops will not leave Iraq until he is convinced their mission is complete.     

1 scrutinize   

n.详细检查，细读

参考例句：

• Her purpose was to scrutinize his features to see if he was an honest man.她的目的是通过仔细观察他的相貌以判断他是否诚实。
• She leaned forward to scrutinize their faces.她探身向前，端详他们的面容。

2 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

4 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

7 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。