2007年VOA标准英语-Angry US Lawmakers Criticize Bush War Plan

By Deborah Tate
Washington
11 January 2007

A day after President Bush announced a revised strategy for the Iraq war, a plan that includes an additional 21,000 troops for the country, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came under hostile questioning from skeptical¹ lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle². Rice defended the plan in day-long hearings before Senate and House panels Thursday, as VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Biden, left, confers with Sen. Chuck Hagel, during a hearing on Iraq, 11 Jan 2007
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, set the tone for his panel's hearing, when he expressed his opposition⁴ to the proposed increase in U.S. troop strength in Iraq.

"The result will be the loss of more American lives and our military stretched to the brink⁵, with little prospect⁶ of success, and a further loss of [U.S.] influence in the region," he said.

Many lawmakers echoed the concerns, underscoring the challenge the administration faces as it tries to explain the strategy to Congress and the American public.

Some of the harshest criticism came from lawmakers of the president's own Republican Party.

Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and potential presidential candidate in 2008, said the president's plan to put U.S. troops in the middle of a civil war is tactically, strategically and morally wrong.

"I think that this speech given last night by this president represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country's history since Vietnam, if it is carried out. I will resist it," said Hagel.

 
Condoleezza Rice testifies before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 11 January, 2007
For her part, Secretary Rice defended the plan.

"The most urgent task before us now is to help the Iraqi government, and I want to emphasize help, the Iraqi government establish confidence among the Iraqi population that it will and can protect all its citizens, whether they are Sunni, Shi'ia, Kurds, or others, and that they will, in an even-handed fashion, punish those violent people who are killing⁷ innocent Iraqis," she said.

Rice repeated her confidence in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and said she believes he is aware time is running short for restoring security to the country.

Rice's testimony⁸ comes as Senate and House Democratic leaders are planning to bring the president's proposal to a vote in both chambers⁹ to underscore the lack of support for the plan. The action would be purely¹⁰ symbolic¹¹.

Many Democrats¹² are calling for a phased U.S. troop withdrawal¹³. A few others are calling for cutting funding for the war.

"Congress must use its main power, the power of the purse to put an end to this disastrous¹⁴ war, and I am not talking about the surge or escalation¹⁵. It is time to use the power of the purse to bring our troops out of Iraq," said Senator Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat³.

But most lawmakers oppose cutting funds for the war, saying they support the troops.

The Senate's top Republican, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, signaled that Republicans would consider action to block any proposal to cut money to the troops. At a news conference, he endorsed¹⁶ Mr. Bush's plan.

"Only with a secure Baghdad do you have a chance of having a reasonably stable country, which is what our goal is, and what their goal is, and a country that would be an ally in the war on terror," he said.

McConnell called on lawmakers to give the president's plan a chance to succeed.

1 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

2 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 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。

5 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

6 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

9 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

10 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

11 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

12 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》

13 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。

14 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

15 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

16 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》