2007年VOA标准英语-US Defense Secretary Rejects Any Rapid Pullout

By Michael Bowman
Washington
09 May 2007

Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates says he does not expect a swift pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq regardless of the conclusions of a planned September evaluation² of the ongoing³ build-up of U.S. forces in the country. VOA's Michael Bowman reports, Gates spoke⁴ with reporters hours after telling U.S. senators that the United States could potentially begin withdrawing troops from Iraq later in the year.

Joint5 Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, testifies on Capitol Hill, before the Senate Appropriations6 Committee hearing on the Defense Department's budget, 09 May 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070605/0902550.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Robert Gates (r) accompanied by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, testifies on Capitol Hill, 09 May 2007

Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday, Secretary Gates said that if the security situation in Iraq improves and progress is achieved, a reduction in U.S. forces could be considered. He was quick to warn, however, of dire⁷ consequences for Iraq and the United States if a withdrawal⁸ were to take place "with Iraq in chaos⁹."

Later, at a Pentagon news briefing with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, Gates expanded upon his earlier statements with regard an upcoming evaluation of the current troop surge in Iraq.

"I suspect that whatever the evaluation in September [concludes, it] will not lead to precipitous decisions or actions, but would point us in a new direction - either because the surge is working, or because the evaluation is that it is not [working]," he said.

In fact, General Pace said the Pentagon has no contingency¹⁰ plan for bringing all U.S. forces home at once.

As the two men spoke, members of the Democratic-led House of Representatives were crafting legislation to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through July, when Congress would have the option of cutting off money if conditions in Iraq do not improve.

President Bush has signaled he would veto any short term funding bill, just as he vetoed an earlier bill that contained a timeline for a troop pullout from Iraq.

Asked what he hopes will emerge from the legislature, Gates said he would like to see broad bipartisan agreement on two points.

"That it is important to defend this country on the extremists' ten yard line [close to their home] and not on our 10-yard line [close to the United States]," he said. "The other part of it is that, assuming that we have some kind of long-term strategic agreement with the Iraqi government that acknowledges their sovereignty and so on, but still provides the assistance of some level of U.S. troops in Iraq for a protracted¹¹ period of time."

Gates said that even after the bulk of U.S. forces have left Iraq, the United States will have to provide some sort of "stabilizing¹² presence" for the country in whatever form is deemed appropriate at that time.

Turning to Iran's influence in Iraq, General Pace noted¹³ an increase in explosive weaponry being deployed¹⁴ against U.S. forces and said that, to the best of his knowledge, such armaments are all coming from Iran. But he added that it is not possible to pinpoint¹⁵ exactly who within Iran is providing the explosives, and cautioned against jumping to any conclusions beyond the known facts.

1 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。

2 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 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。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

11 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 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。

15 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。