2007年VOA标准英语-Cheney Says Iraq Pullout Would Further Destabil

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
12 March 2007

Vice¹ President Dick Cheney says a precipitous withdrawal² from Iraq would be dangerous for the United States and for the entire Middle East. His comments came in Washington Monday in a speech to a gathering³ sponsored by an influential⁴ lobbying group. VOA's Stephanie Ho has more on the story.

Dick Cheney speaks at AIPAC 2007 Policy Conference in Washington, DC, 12 March 2007

In a speech to a friendly audience, Vice President Cheney said pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq before Iraqis could defend themselves could be disastrous⁵.

"Shi'ite extremists, backed by Iran, could be in an all-out war with Sunni extremists, led by al Qaida and remnants of the old Saddam regime," said Dick Cheney.

He added that chaos⁶ in Iraq is likely to spark greater instability around the world.

"Having tasted victory in Iraq, jihadists would look abroad for new missions," he said. "Many would head for Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taleban. Others would set out for capitals across the Middle East, spreading more discord⁷ as they eliminate dissenters⁸ and work to undermine moderate governments."

 

Also speaking at the conference, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged other Middle Eastern governments to join Israel in opposing Iran, whose president has called for Israel's destruction.

"The Iranian threat is clear, not just to Israel and the Western world, maybe Arab and Gulf⁹ states feel it too," she said. "They also cannot afford a nuclear Iran, and believe me, love for Israel has nothing to do with it. They know, as we do, that even if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict magically disappeared, Iran's radical¹⁰ ideology¹¹ would remain."

She also urged Arab and Muslim countries that condition their relations with Israel on the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to move quickly and establish relations with her government.

"You have the power to change reality and to encourage Palestinians to embrace co-existence," she said. "Do not wait for peace to come before you normalize relations with us. Normalize relations now, and peace will come."

Livni is in Washington for talks with U.S. officials on the Arab peace plan, known as the Saudi initiative. It calls for Israel to withdraw from all territories seized during the 1967 Six Day War, in exchange for normal relations from all Arab countries. A Palestinian state would be established in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

5 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。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 discord   

n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐

参考例句：

• These two answers are in discord.这两个答案不一样。
• The discord of his music was hard on the ear.他演奏的不和谐音很刺耳。

8 dissenters   

n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He attacked the indulgence shown to religious dissenters. 他抨击对宗教上持不同政见者表现出的宽容。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• (The dissenters would have allowed even more leeway to the Secretary.) （持异议者还会给行政长官留有更多的余地。） 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

10 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

11 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。