2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Ready to Unveil New Strategy for Iraq War

By Meredith Buel
Washington
09 January 2007

President Bush is scheduled to unveil his new strategy for the war in Iraq Wednesday night in a televised address to the nation. The president is expected to call for an increase of as many as 20,000 U.S. troops to quell¹ the violence in Baghdad. He is also expected to propose a new economic plan for Iraq and renewed American diplomacy² in the Middle East. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel has a preview of the president's address in this report from Washington.

 
George Bush 
U.S. lawmakers who have been briefed on the president's new plan say the increase of troops is part of a change in military, political and economic strategy in Iraq.

They say Mr. Bush believes the political process in Iraq has been hijacked³ by sectarian violence, which he feels must be stopped so Iraqi leaders and security forces can gain control of the country.

During his address, President Bush is expected to outline specific objectives for the additional troops, as he recently told reporters.

"One thing is for certain, I will want to make sure that the mission is clear and specific and can be accomplished," he said.

The U.S. Congress is sharply divided over the proposal to add more soldiers to the 140,000 troops already deployed⁴ in Iraq.

In last November's elections, Democrats⁵ took control of the Congress from President Bush's Republican Party as the president's popularity plummeted⁶, largely due to the war in Iraq.

 
Sen. John McCain, (l), with Sen. Joseph Lieberman, during a question and answer session discussing Iraq, 5 Jan 2007
One member of Congress who has consistently called for more troops is Arizona Republican Senator John McCain.

"The presence of additional coalition⁷ 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 chance to pursue reconciliation⁸."

Senator McCain, along with Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, recently traveled to Iraq to meet with U.S. military leaders.

Senator Lieberman says without greater security in Baghdad and other parts of the country, little progress can be made in other important areas.

"We need an increase in troops there now," he said. "It will help to establish the security that is the precondition to political and economic stability. The increase in troops must be robust⁹, it must be substantial and it must be sustained."

Many leaders of the new Democratic majority in Congress disagree.

 
Nancy Pelosi (file photo)
The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is urging the president to begin withdrawing American troops from Iraq in four to six months.

She says Americans demonstrated in the November elections that they disagree with the administration's policies on Iraq.

"The American people rejected an open-ended obligation to a war without end," she said.

Other Democrats, like Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, question whether sending more soldiers to Iraq will have a positive impact on the situation there.

"We are talking about the lives of American soldiers, whether we will send 20,000 or 30,000 more American soldiers into that field of combat, whether that can possibly make a difference," he said. "I hope to God that the president reconsiders that. I am afraid that in many instances we are only sending targets, and not troops."

In addition to sending more soldiers, President Bush's new strategy is also expected to include new programs for reconstruction¹⁰, jobs and political assistance in Iraq.

News reports say the plan will also set up a series of benchmarks the Iraqi government will be expected to meet to reduce sectarian tensions and help stabilize¹¹ the country.

Frederick Kagan, a resident scholar and military analyst¹² with the American Enterprise Institute, has been a long-time advocate of increasing U.S. troop levels in Iraq.

Kagan says withdrawing forces prematurely¹³ would lead to dire¹⁴ consequences in the Middle East.

"If the United States embraced the proposals to withdraw and lose in Iraq, then world history would move very sharply in one direction," he said. "I think it is very, very clear that the civil war in Iraq would expand, would explode and would come to involve other countries in the region and the United States would find itself committed to dealing¹⁵ with the consequences of that explosion for years and decades to come."

 
Condoleezza Rice 
The day after President Bush's speech, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense¹⁶ Secretary Robert Gates are scheduled to testify before Congress as the White House gears up to sell its new strategy on Iraq.

Later in the week Secretary Rice plans to travel to the Middle East to discuss Iraq and renew efforts to revive the Arab-Israeli peace process.

 

1 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。

2 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

3 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

4 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。

5 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》

6 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 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。

9 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

10 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

11 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。

12 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

13 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

14 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

16 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。