2007年VOA标准英语-Bush: Change in Iraq Strategy 'Ideological Stru

By Scott Stearns
Washington
11 January 2007

U.S. President George Bush is sending more troops to Iraq as part of what he says will be a new way forward. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns looks at the president's changing approach to the conflict.

 
President George Bush concludes his address to the nation from the White House Library, 10 Jan 2007
Preparing the nation for war four years ago, President Bush said Iraqi weapons of mass destruction were a grave and gathering¹ threat.

"Our cause is just: the security of the nations we serve and the peace of the world. And our mission is clear: to disarm² Iraq of weapons of mass destruction," he said.

Saddam Hussein said he had no weapons of mass destruction. Then White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the Iraqi leader was lying.

"President Bush has said Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. Tony Blair has said Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. Donald Rumsfeld has said Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. Richard Butler has said they do. The United Nations has said they do. The experts have said they do. Iraq says they don't. You can choose who you want to believe," Fleischer said.

When U.S. inspectors³ found no weapons of mass destruction, the president's political opponents sought to use that against him. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry was the Democratic nominee⁴ for president in 2004.

"The president of the United States and the vice⁵ president of the United States may well be the last two people on the planet who won't face the truth about Iraq," he said.

The president said he had done the right thing.

 
An Iraqi watches US President George Bush speaking about his new  strategy on a TV screen in Baghdad, 11 Jan 2007 
"You know, knowing what I know today, even though we haven't found the stockpiles of weapons we thought were there, I still would have made the same decision," said Mr. Bush.

With public opinion polls showing falling support for the war, the president's re-election campaign moved away from the threat of biological weapons toward what he called a generational commitment to advancing freedom.

"A lot of my foreign policy is driven by the fact that I truly believe that freedom is a gift from the Almighty⁶ to every person, and that America has a responsibility to take a lead in the world, to help people be free," he said.

Re-elected to a second term, the president rejected calls for a timetable for troop withdrawal⁷, saying that would only embolden⁸ the enemy. He said Americans were in the fight to win, and they were winning.

"The road of victory is the road that will take our troops home," said Mr. Bush. "As we make progress on the ground, and Iraqi forces increasingly take the lead, we should be able to further decrease our troop levels."

But sectarian violence grew worse. And in July of 2006, the president agreed to shift more U.S. troops to the capital.

"Obviously, the violence in Baghdad is still terrible, and, therefore, there needs to be more troops," he said.

That Baghdad security plan failed and the increasing violence in Iraq became the central issue of last year's legislative⁹ elections. The president told voters that his party would keep the nation safe. As for Democrats¹⁰, he warned, they view Iraq as: The terrorists win and America loses.

"Oh, I know some in America don't believe Iraq is the central front in the war on terror, and that's fine, they can have that opinion," said Mr. Bush. "But Osama bin¹¹ Laden¹² knows it's the central front in the war on terror."

 
Nancy Pelosi (file photo)
Voters gave opposition¹³ Democrats control of both houses of Congress, making Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House.

"The American people have lost confidence in the president's policy," she said.

President Bush took responsibility for what he called the electoral thumping¹⁴, saying voters clearly voiced their dissatisfaction with the pace of progress in Iraq. But he said they did not vote to give up. Perhaps, Mr. Bush said, his determination was misunderstood.

"Stay the course" means, let's get the job done, but it doesn't mean staying stuck on a strategy or tactics that may not be working. So perhaps I need to do a better job of explaining that we're constantly adjusting," he said.

Announcing his latest adjustments for Iraq on Wednesday night, the president said it is more than a military conflict. It is now the decisive, ideological¹⁵ struggle of our time.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

3 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

7 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。

8 embolden   

v.给…壮胆，鼓励

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine,he went over to introduce himself to her.他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• The Prime Minister was steadily emboldened by the discovery that he faced no opposition.发现自己并未遭到反对，首相渐渐有了信心。

9 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

10 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》

11 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

12 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 thumping   

adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持

参考例句：

• Her heart was thumping with emotion. 她激动得心怦怦直跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was thumping the keys of the piano. 他用力弹钢琴。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。