2007年VOA标准英语-Iraq Funding Bill Vetoed by Bush

By Scott Stearns
White House
01 May 2007

President Bush has vetoed more than $124 billion worth of funding for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq because the measure includes a timetable for the withdrawal¹ of U.S. troops from Iraq. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.

President Bush speaking at the White House, 1 May 2007

President Bush says opposition² demands to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq by October would embolden³ the enemy.

In a nation-wide address moments after vetoing the spending bill, the president called it a prescription⁴ for chaos⁵ and confusion.

"I believe setting a deadline for a withdrawal would demoralize the Iraqi people, would encourage killers⁶ across the broader Middle East, and send a signal that America will not keep its commitments," said President Bush. "Setting a deadline for withdrawal is setting a date for failure. And that would be irresponsible."

Because the measure passed the House and Senate by close votes, it is highly unlikely opposition Democrats⁷ can find the two-thirds majority to over-ride this veto.

Still, Democratic leaders sent the doomed⁸ legislation to the White House Tuesday to show their opposition to what Senate majority leader Harry⁹ Reid says are U.S. troops mired¹⁰ in the middle of an open-ended civil war.

Reid says the president now has the obligation to explain how he will responsibly end the war, and Democrats will work with him.

"But if the president thinks that by vetoing this bill he will stop us from working to change the direction of the war in Iraq, he is mistaken," said Harry Reid.

A public opinion poll by CBS News and the New York Times says more than 70 percent of Americans disapprove¹¹ of how the president is handling the war. Two-thirds of those surveyed support setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

President Bush says he wants U.S. troops out of Iraq as well, but only when the government there is better able to handle its own security.

Mr. Bush vetoed the legislation on the fourth anniversary of his much-publicized appearance on the deck of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln under a banner which read: Mission Accomplished¹². At the time, he told sailors that they had freed Iraq and made America more secure.

"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended," he said. "In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."

Fewer than 200 Americans had been killed in Iraq when the president spoke¹³ four years ago. The death toll¹⁴ now is over 3,000.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says the United States and its allies did prevail in terms of toppling the Iraqi army and Saddam Hussein. She accused Democrats of a trumped-up political stunt¹⁵ that is the height of cynicism for delaying the bill until this fourth anniversary of what has come to be known as the Mission Accomplished speech.

The president meets Wednesday with Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate to talk about how to move forward on new legislation to pay for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

5 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。

6 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

7 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》

8 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

9 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

10 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

12 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

13 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。

14 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

15 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。