2006年VOA标准英语-Iraq Panel Could Spur Bipartisan Cooperation

By Jim Malone
Washington
08 December 2006

President Bush and members of Congress from both political parties have generally welcomed the recommendations put forward by the Iraq Study Group headed by former Secretary of State James Baker¹ and former Congressman² Lee Hamilton. While there is no guarantee that the proposals will be adopted, official Washington is also taking note of the bipartisan consensus³ reached by the commission, a rare event in the age of polarized U.S. politics. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.

 
President Bush, center, speaks to members of the media following his meeting with the Iraq Study Group in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, 6 Dec. 2006
The Iraq panel includes 10 distinguished⁴ Americans, five Republicans and five Democrats⁶, who have a wealth of experience in government going back decades.

In presenting their recommendations to President Bush and the Congress, study group members knew they faced the formidable task of trying to heal the domestic political divisions sparked by the war in Iraq.

Panel co-chairman Lee Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana said, "We also hope that our report will help bridge the divide in this country on the Iraq war and will at least be a beginning of a consensus here."

"Because without that consensus in the country, we do not think ultimately you can succeed in Iraq," he added.

Most members of Congress welcomed the report, but many stopped short of endorsing⁷ its recommendations.

Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat⁵ from Connecticut, praised the bipartisan approach of the Iraq Study Group.

"I think perhaps the most significant thing you have done is to set an example for us that five Democrats and five Republicans sat and reasoned together about what we should do in Iraq to succeed," he said.

But the praise from lawmakers of both parties for the Baker-Hamilton commission's bipartisan approach does not guarantee congressional support for its recommendations, especially a push for troop withdrawals⁸ by 2008 and a call to engage Syria and Iran.

Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona said, "I believe that this is a recipe that will lead to, sooner or later, our defeat in Iraq."

 
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 also praised the panel's efforts, even as he indicated he would resist some of the key recommendations.

But Mr. Bush agreed that finding a way forward in Iraq will be a major test of whether Congress can put aside political differences and approach tough problems in a bipartisan manner.

He said the American people will be watching.

"They have seen elections and they saw all the bitterness, you know, finger-pointing and name calling and they wonder whether or not we can work together on this important cause, and I believe we can," Mr. Bush said.

Some experts believe the Iraq panel has already succeeded in changing the nature of the debate on Iraq by trying to focus on practical steps that enhance the chance for success, but in a way that tries to minimize political differences.

James Carafano, a defense⁹ historian with the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said, "So I think Americans widely respect them, they have an enormous amount of expertise¹⁰, they have done a lot of good, positive things in our country, and if these people can get together and say, look, reasonable Americans should be able to agree on this and this is the situation that we are facing, it really provides an opportunity for people to put politics aside."

Closing the political divide on Iraq will not be easy. Even the independent commission that investigated the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States had difficulty getting some of its recommendations enacted¹¹ into law by the Congress.

Georgetown University expert Stephen Wayne says the polarized political environment in the United States has been years in the making.

He said, "Part of the strong feeling of Democrats against Republicans and Republicans against Democrats has come from this strong partisanship¹² reinforced by ideology¹³."

"Republicans are conservative, Democrats are more moderate and liberal. So the stakes are high because one group feels if the other group gains power, they might as well move to another country," he continued.

Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming is a member of the Iraq Study Group. He hopes the country will take some encouragement from the panel's ability to achieve bipartisan consensus on the way forward in Iraq.

"We are just sincere enough to believe that it will [work] and that all people with a 'D' [for Democrat] behind their name did not become a guard at Lenin's tomb and all people with an 'R' [for Republican] behind their name did not crawl out of a cave in the mountains, and that maybe we can do something and that is what we are here for. People of good will, of good faith, maybe it is corny, maybe it will not work, but it sure as hell is better than sitting there where we are right now," he said.

The first test for this new spirit of bipartisanship comes next month when Democrats retake control of Congress for the first time since 1994, setting up the prospect¹⁴ of confrontation¹⁵ with the president in the final two years of his term.

1 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。

2 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。

3 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

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 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》

7 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

8 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

11 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

12 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

13 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

14 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

15 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。