2007年VOA标准英语-US Defense Secretary Presses Iraqis on Reconcil

By Al Pessin
Baghdad
15 June 2007

U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates is in Baghdad, where he says he will press Iraqi leaders to move toward reconciliation² and prove they can lay the foundation for a peaceful society. He is the third senior U.S. official to carry that message to Baghdad in a week. VOA's Al Pessin is traveling with the secretary and filed this report from Baghdad.

Robert Gates (file photo)

Speaking to reporters on the U.S. military transport plane that brought him here for the fourth time in his six months in office, Secretary Gates acknowledged that his message is not new, and he said the U.S. government is not satisfied with the Iraqi response so far.

"It'll be the same message I've been delivering since December, since my first trip out here, and that is that our troops are buying them time to pursue reconciliation, that frankly³ we're disappointed in the progress so far and hope that this most recent bombing by al-Qaida won't further disrupt or delay the process," he said.

Secretary Gates noted⁴ that the last of the extra troops President Bush ordered to Iraq in January have only begun operations during the past few days. Secretary Gates indicated now is the time for Iraqi leaders to move forward with a series of laws designed to promote reconciliation, even though violence is continuing, with high death tolls⁵ among U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces and civilians⁶.

That is the same message carried to Baghdad during the past week by former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, and by the commander of all U.S. troops in the Middle East, Admiral William Fallon.

Secretary Gates said there is a reason for the high-level visits with Iraqi leaders.

 "There's enormous interest in their ability to make progress in demonstrating to the Iraqi people that they are prepared to lay the foundations for a future Iraqi state in which all of the different elements can live in peace with one another. I think that opportunity is still open," he said.

He he did not say how long that opportunity will last, and he acknowledged his staff is looking at other options for U.S. policy in case the current effort fails. He did not say what those options are, but officials in Washington have spoken about a partial withdrawal⁷ of U.S. troops combined with a change in their duties to focus more on protecting Iraq's borders and training its troops, and less on day-to-day security operations.

Secretary Gates will have a long meeting Saturday with the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, who is to make a progress report in September that will play a large role in deciding the future of U.S. policy toward Iraq. Some military officers have said September is too soon to fully⁸ assess the impact of the troop surge and the new counterinsurgency strategy General Petraeus is pursuing. But Secretary Gates says the September report will still be important.

"Well, I think we should have a sense of direction in September. I mean, it may still be, there still will be a lot of uncertainty⁹, but I think we'll have some sense of direction and trends on where things are headed," he said.

Secretary Gates also defended General Petraeus from critics in Congress who say he has been too optimistic about progress since he took command in Iraq earlier this year. The secretary says the general has reported publicly on both progress and problems, and he expects him to do the same in the September report.

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 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

3 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

4 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。

5 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 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。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。