2007年VOA标准英语-Bush to Face Skeptical US Public on Iraq

By Jim Malone
Washington
09 January 2007

President Bush will deliver one of the most important speeches of his presidency¹ on Wednesday when he presents his strategy for a new way forward in Iraq. White House officials are not discussing specifics of the plan, but Republican members of Congress say it will include a temporary surge of more U.S. troops into Iraq to help quell² sectarian violence there. But as VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports, Mr. Bush may face an uphill battle in winning public support for his strategy.

 
Sen. John McCain, (l), with Sen. Joseph Lieberman, during a question and answer session discussing Iraq, 5 Jan 2007
Among those supporting the idea of a troop surge to secure Baghdad and other areas of unrest is Senator John McCain of Arizona, who is expected to be a Republican presidential contender in 2008.

"The presence of additional coalition⁴ forces would give the Iraqi government the ability to do what it cannot accomplish today on its own, impose its rule throughout the country," he said. "In bringing security to Iraq and chiefly to Baghdad, our forces would give the government a fighting change to pursue reconciliation⁵."

Most Democrats⁶ oppose the idea of a troop surge, though they are divided on what to do about it.

 
Sen. Edward Kennedy, (l), talks to reporters outside  the White House, 8 Jan 2007
Senator Ted³ Kennedy of Massachuestts told NBC's Today program he will lead an effort to force the president to get congressional approval for the additional troops before they can be deployed⁷.

"Historically, Congress has the power of the purse, and what we are saying is that before the president sends additional American troops to a civil war, that the president has to come back to the Congress and get the authority for that deployment," he said.

Two new public opinion polls, one by The Washington Post and ABC News and the other by the USA Today newspaper and the Gallup organization, show large majorities of those surveyed oppose a troops increase in Iraq.

 
George W. Bush
John Mueller is an expert on war and public opinion at Ohio State University. He says President Bush will have a tough time winning public support for the troops increase.

"I am not sure he has to sell it," he said. "He can just do it, but I do not think it is going to be met with great favor or adulation. The news over the last year, and for that matter, two to three years, has been almost uniformly miserable⁸ out of Iraq. And I think the mood of pessimism⁹ is very widespread. It obviously influenced the [November congressional] election."

Many Republicans also appear uneasy about the expected call for a troop surge in Iraq, though others say they will support the plan.

Republican political strategist Frank Luntz told NBC television that Republican lawmakers are well aware of the declining support for the war in public opinion polls.

"When you talk about a surge, people hear numbers," he said. "They do not want more troops [sent to Iraq]. The public has basically decided¹⁰ that this war is not going well."

White House officials believe the president's speech will be their best opportunity to rally public support around a new strategy that offers the best chance for victory in Iraq, something many Americans have told pollsters they now believe is doubtful.

"I think millions of Americans believe that this war is winnable and think, furthermore, that it is important to rebuild the sense of political unity," said presidential spokesman Tony Snow. "One of the things the president has often said is, the only way we lose [in Iraq] is if we lose our will."

Complicating¹² the president's push for a new strategy in Iraq is the new reality in Washington that Democrats now control both chambers¹³ of Congress.

Democrats will hold weeks of hearings on the president's Iraq policy and some of them are demanding that Mr. Bush justify¹⁴ sending additional troops to Iraq.

Tom DeFrank is Washington bureau chief for the New York Daily News and a regular panelist on VOA's Issues in the News program.

 
Nancy Pelosi (file photo)
"Nancy Pelosi has made it very clear that the view of the Democratic Party on the war is going to be very different, and the tone is going to be much tougher and probably less collegial," he said. "She basically said that the reason Democrats now control Congress is because of the war, and I think she made it pretty clear that they are not going to roll over on that one."

In the end, many analysts¹⁵ believe the president's greatest challenge will be to reinvigorate public support for his Iraq policy, support that has steadily¹⁶ weakened over the past two years.

"The public has been conflicted," said Will Marshall of the Progressive Policy Institute, who spoke¹¹ to VOA's Focus. "They do not think the Bush administration has a plan for success in Iraq, but they have not been terribly receptive to the idea that we should just get out and abandon our responsibilities to the Iraqi people and our own security interests in making sure that we do not leave a situation behind that presents an intolerable offense¹⁷ to the country [U.S.]."

The public's uncertainty¹⁸ about what to do in Iraq is reflected in the latest CBS News poll: 72 percent of those surveyed said they disapproved¹⁹ of the president's handling of Iraq. But only 21 percent said they would support an immediate²⁰ withdrawal²¹ of all U.S. troops from the country.

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

3 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

4 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。

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 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 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

9 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 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。

12 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

13 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

14 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

16 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

17 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

18 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

19 disapproved   

v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My parents disapproved of my marriage. 我父母不赞成我的婚事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing. 她不赞成儿子不加选择地收看电视。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 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。

21 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。