2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Urges Patience on Iraq

By Paula Wolfson
White House
10 May 2007

President Bush is under increased pressure from members of his own political party to show positive results in Iraq. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from the White House, where the president met behind closed doors with concerned Republicans from the House of Representatives.

Defense1 Secretary Robert Gates (l) and National Security Adviser2 Stephen Hadley, at the start of their meeting at the Pentagon, 10 May 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070605/0912240.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

President Bush (center) seated between Defense Secretary Robert Gates (l) and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, at the start of their meeting at the Pentagon, 10 May 2007

While Congress is wrestling with how to fund the Iraq war at a time of growing public opposition³, Republican lawmakers are letting the president know their patience with his approach is wearing thin.

Eleven congressional Republicans - all of them considered political moderates - came to the White House Wednesday for a private meeting to share their concerns with the president.

The meeting was not on Mr. Bush's published schedule, and did not become public until congressional participants decided⁴ to speak to the media. Among them was Congressman⁵ Tom Davis of Virginia.

"The president listened," he said. "He was engaged. This was not a suck-up session [an attempt to curry⁶ favor], but this was very, very candid⁷."

The 11 lawmakers delivered what they called a blunt warning to the president. They said while they would support the administration in the current fight over war funding, their long term support for the war is in question.

They said there must be progress in Iraq soon, and expressed frustration⁸ not only with the continued high level of violence, but with the slow pace of action by the Iraqi government.

The White House initially⁹ declined to respond to questions about Wednesday's meeting. But the president did comment early Thursday during a visit to the Pentagon.

"They expressed their opinions," he said. "They are obviously concerned about the Iraq war."

Mr. Bush said he had a good exchange with the Republican delegation¹⁰. He said he told them to be patient, and give his new Iraq strategy time to be implemented¹¹.

"I said why don't we wait and see what happens," he said. "Let's give this plan a chance to work, and stop playing politics."

The president noted¹² that sectarian killings¹³ have declined since U.S. troops stepped up their presence in Baghdad and al-Anbar province. But he said attacks by al-Qaida in Iraq are likely to rise because the terrorists feel threatened.

"As we have surged our forces, al-Qaida is responding with their own surge," the president said. "Al-Qaida is ratcheting up its campaign of high-profile attacks, including deadly suicide bombings carried out by foreign terrorists."

The president said U.S. and coalition¹⁴ forces will strike back. He said despite the bloodshed, he remains¹⁵ convinced the war is necessary, and noble.

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 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 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。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

6 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

7 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

8 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

9 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

11 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。