2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Says Withdrawal From Iraq to Be Conditions

By Paula Wolfson
White House
26 June 2006

The White House says a plan for a major U.S. troop withdrawal¹ from Iraq has been drafted by top commanders, but emphasizes it is one of several options under consideration.

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George W. Bush   
  
The withdrawal plan was presented to President Bush last Friday by the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey.

During a brief session with reporters, the president made clear the plan is one of several options under consideration, and a final decision will be based solely² on the security situation in Iraq.

"In terms of our troop presence there, that decision will be made by General Casey, as well as the sovereign government of Iraq, based on conditions on the ground," the president said.

He said he trusts General Casey to fully³ assess the situation, and present a sound recommendation, one that will enable the United States to achieve victory in Iraq.

"And victory means a free government that is able to sustain itself, defend itself, it is a government that will be an ally in the war on terror," he said.

The New York Times reported Sunday that the Pentagon had drafted a plan to bring home two brigades of a few thousand soldiers from Iraq in coming months. It also said the number of combat brigades could drop from 14 to five or six next year.
 

General George Casey (file photo)   
  
General Casey hinted just prior to his meeting with the president that some sort of significant reduction in troop levels is possible in the coming months, under certain conditions.

"I am confident we will be able to continue to take reductions over the course of this year," General Casey said. "It is both the security situation and the progress of the Iraqi security forces. What we have always said was there would be gradual reduction, over time, as the Iraqi security forces assumed a larger and larger role."

White House spokesman Tony Snow says it is General Casey's job to figure out how to proceed if certain scenarios⁴ hold. But he warns, just because a withdrawal plan has been put forward does not mean it is etched in stone

1 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。

2 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。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓