2006年VOA标准英语-Rumsfeld Says Military Effort Alone Will Not Br

By Peter Fedynsky
Washington, DC
11 December 2006
 
watch Rumsfeld Iraq

The departure of U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Donald Rumsfeld this month roughly coincides with the end of Lieutenant² General Peter Chiarelli's tour as Commander of Multinational³ Forces in Iraq.  As VOA's Peter Fedynsky reports, both officials agree that the war in Iraq cannot be won by military force alone.

 
Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld shakes hands with well-wishers following town hall meeting at the Pentagon
In a farewell meeting with Pentagon employees, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said a precipitous U.S. pullout from Iraq would be a terrible mistake that would inject further instability in that country and the Middle East.  He added that the military is doing everything possible to help stabilize⁴ Iraq.

"But they can't win this, quote, unquote, militarily.  It has to be won by the Iraqi people.  It has to be run through a reconciliation⁵ process and through a political process. And it is those diplomatic and economic and political things that have to move forward in that country."

Meanwhile, General Peter Chiarelli, who relinquishes⁶ command of Multinational Forces in Iraq next month, echoed Secretary Rumsfeld's assessment⁷, adding that the U.S. mission in Iraq can succeed, given proper resources.  He spoke⁸ by video link from Iraq. "We need to get out of thinking this is solely⁹ a military conflict where we must simply apply more U.S. or coalition¹⁰ and Iraqi forces against an enemy that we can destroy.  All our nation's strengths -- diplomatic, economic, political -- must be leveraged¹¹ to help the Iraqis find their way through this process."

 
Lieutenant General, Peter Chiarelli
General Chiarelli underscored the importance of creating jobs for young Iraqi men, whom he characterized as angry, in order to help secure the country.  He said the February terrorist bombing of the Golden Mosque¹² in Samarra sparked Iraq's current sectarian strife¹³ by changing people's view of their identity from Iraqi to Sunni or Shia.   

Secretary Rumsfeld said terrorism is a weapon of choice for violent extremists whose ultimate goal is to dominate the Muslim world. 

"They want to destabilize moderate mainstream¹⁴ Muslim regimes and establish a Caliphate, and have a handful of clerics determine what everyone in that country can do, and then spread that across the globe from Indonesia to the Middle East through North Africa and Southern Europe."

Reflecting on his six years as Pentagon Chief, Mr. Rumsfeld said the saddest day of his tenure¹⁵ was when he learned about prison abuse at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison.  He said his happiest day will probably be next Monday… the day he leaves office.

1 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。

2 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。

3 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

4 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

5 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。

6 relinquishes   

交出，让给( relinquish的第三人称单数 )； 放弃

参考例句：

• She relinquishes him to a partner more appropriate. 结果是，她抛弃了他，找了个年龄相当的伴侣。

7 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？

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

10 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

11 leveraged   

促使…改变( leverage的过去式和过去分词 )； [美国英语]杠杆式投机，（使）举债经营，（使）利用贷款进行投机

参考例句：

• Chrysler has traditionally been a highly leveraged company. 克莱斯勒一向是一家周转十分灵活的公司。
• Leveraged recaps have become popular for a number of reasons. 杠杆资本重组的大行其道有好几个原因。

12 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

13 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

14 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

15 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。