2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Meets with US Military Leaders on Iraq Sur

By Scott Stearns
White House
31 August 2007

President Bush met with top American military leaders Friday, two weeks before he is scheduled to send a report to Congress on progress in Iraq. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports.

Defense1 Secretary Robert Gates, and outgoing Joint2 Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, 31 Aug 2007" src="/upimg/allimg/070907/0814290.jpg" width="210" border="0" />

President Bush, left, waves as he leaves the Pentagon, with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, 31 Aug 2007

President Bush went to the Pentagon Friday to meet with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the U.S. military Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The session was originally meant to deal primarily with issues of housing and health care for military families, but they also discussed the long-term impact of keeping 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

The progress those troops have been making will be central to the president's September 15 report to Congress more than four years after the U.S.-led invasion.

In a written statement following the Pentagon meeting, President Bush said the status report on his decision to send more troops to Iraq will assess what is going well, what can be improved, and what adjustments might be made in the coming months. As Congress asked for the assessment³, Mr. Bush says legislators should withhold⁴ judgment⁵ until they have heard it.

Many opposition⁶ Democrats⁷, and some legislators from the president's own Republican Party, say it is time to start planning for the withdrawal⁸ of U.S. forces.

White House officials say President Bush will make no decisions until after hearing from U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and the top commander there, General David Petraeus.

George Bush addresses the American Legion's 89th Annual Convention in Reno, Nevada, 28 Aug 2007

But in remarks earlier this week to America's largest veterans' group Mr. Bush made clear that he believes withdrawing from Iraq now will make the United States more vulnerable to terrorist attack.

"Imagine an Iraq where al-Qaida has established sanctuaries⁹ to safely plot future attacks on targets all over the world, including America," he said. "We've seen what these enemies will do when American forces are actively¹⁰ engaged in Iraq. And we can envision what they would do if they were emboldened¹¹ by American forces in retreat."

President Bush told the American Legion Tuesday that winning the war in Iraq is central to broader peace in the Middle East and the safety of Americans at home.

"The challenge in Iraq comes down to this: either the forces of extremism succeed or the forces of freedom succeed," he said. "Either our enemies advance their interests in Iraq or we advance our interests. The most important and immediate¹² way to counter the ambitions of al-Qaida and Iran and other forces of instability and terror is to win the fight in Iraq."

In his written statement Friday, the president said the stakes in Iraq are too high and the consequences too grave to allow politics to harm the mission of U.S. forces. He said he hopes both parties can put partisanship¹³ and politics behind them and commit to a common vision to give troops what they need to secure what he called America's vital national interests in Iraq.

While White House officials say there is no doubt the troop reinforcements have made a difference in Iraq, Congressional investigators¹⁴ in the Government Accountability Office say Iraq has failed to meet 15 of 18 benchmarks for political and military progress.

The White House says Congress set the bar too high and that what Americans are most interested in is not whether those benchmarks have been met, but whether there has been continuing progress toward those goals.

A CBS News poll this month shows more than two-thirds of Americans disapprove¹⁵ of the president's handling of the war. A separate survey released this week by UPI says more than half of Americans believe the United States has not lost the war in Iraq. About one-third of those surveyed in that poll believe victory is not possible.

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 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。

3 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？

4 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

5 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

6 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。

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 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 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

10 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

11 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

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。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

14 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 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。