2007年VOA标准英语-US Election Politics Drives Iraq Debate

By Jim Malone
Washington
23 July 2007

The ongoing¹ U.S. domestic debate over the war in Iraq is already largely being driven by the politics of the 2008 presidential and congressional elections. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.

Democratic congressional leaders are playing what experts like to call political hardball, forcing votes in the House and Senate on proposals that set a timeline for the withdrawal² of most U.S. forces from Iraq by next April.

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Rep. Harry Reid (file photo)

Backed by public opinion polls that show most Americans have turned against the war, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and others believe the best strategy for Democrats⁴ is to keep up the pressure on President Bush.

"What has happened in Iraq is wrong," Reid said on the CBS program Face the Nation. "We must change course and we [Democrats] are going to continue doing everything we can in a bipartisan manner to focus attention on that and get our troops home."

The president is trying to bolster⁵ his Republican supporters in Congress by asserting that the U.S. troop surge in Iraq is improving the security situation in some areas.

Mr. Bush argues that at the very least, Congress should give the strategy more time before imposing⁶ troop withdrawal deadlines on U.S. military commanders in the field.

"These successes demonstrate the gains are troops are making in Iraq and the importance of giving our military the time they need to give their new strategy a chance to work," he said.

Caught in the middle of this political debate are a handful of moderate Senate Republicans who reject the president's plea to simply stay the course in Iraq but who are also put off by anti-war Democrats demanding a speedy withdrawal.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (file photo)

Senator Olympia Snowe, a moderate Republican from Maine, also appeared on Face the Nation.

"We have to reach out and be more bipartisan," she said. "The United States Senate was founded on the principle of accommodation and consensus⁷, and neither of which is evident."

Republicans have blocked Democratic attempts to pass an amendment⁸ with a firm troop withdrawal deadline in the Senate. Democrats in turn have refused to consider some Republican or bipartisan proposals that would move away from the president's strategy in Iraq without setting specific dates for troop withdrawals⁹.

For now, Democrats seem to believe that public opinion is on their side against the war and that the longer the debate goes on, the stronger their position will be during next year's presidential and congressional elections.

"Part of this is the Democratic desire to force Republicans up for re-election in 2008 to be on the record as many times as they can so the Democrats can put together video clips of Senator Smith or Senator Sununu or whomever are supporting this war that two-thirds of the American people do not," said Tom DeFrank, Washington bureau chief for the New York Daily News and a guest on VOA's Issues in the News program.

Enough Republicans are sticking with the president now to block Democratic congressional attempts to enact¹⁰ a troop withdrawal timetable.

But some political experts argue that as the two sides get closer to the 2008 election year, Republicans could become more vulnerable on the Iraq issue.

"The Republicans are acutely aware of what happened in 2006 and they do not want to see a repeat of it in 2008," said John McIntyre, who edits the politics website RealClearPolitics.com. "And for better or worse, the public has tired of the war in Iraq and I think what most Republicans are feeling, whether they say it publicly or not, is that the situation just is not going to improve quick enough."

US soldiers prepare to search homes in the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad, 28 June 2007

The next major stage in the Iraq debate is expected in September when the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and the top U.S. commander there provide Congress with an assessment¹¹ of how the military's surge strategy is working in Iraq.

"But come September, I think, even Republicans have made up their minds that that is going to be the opportunity to send a more aggressive message to the president that the policy has to change, even if they have to change the policy," said Stuart Rothenberg, who publishes an independent political newsletter in Washington.

Iraq has also become the central issue in the early stage of the 2008 presidential campaign, especially among the eight Democrats seeking their party's nomination¹² next year.

1 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。

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 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。

4 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》

5 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

6 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

7 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

8 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

9 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

10 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

11 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

12 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。