2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Says US Could Start Pulling Troops Out of

By Al Pessin
al-Asad Air Base, Iraq
03 September 2007

President Bush with US troops in Iraq's Anbar province

During a surprise visit to Iraq Monday, President Bush said if current trends continue it will be possible to begin withdrawing U.S. troops. The president made the comment during an unprecedented¹ visit to Iraq with his secretaries of State and Defense², and his top military commanders. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the meeting site at al-Asad Air Base in western al-Anbar Province.

President Bush said he was pleased with what he heard from Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus during his five-hour visit to this province, which has gone from being the most violent and anti-government part of Iraq to one of the country's main security success stories. "General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker tell me if the kind of success we are seeing continues it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces," he said.

President Bush (right) shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki while President Jalal Talibani looks on

President Bush also met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talibani and other top leaders, as well as provincial³ officials and local sheikhs. Earlier this year, the Sunni sheikhs switched their allegiance from al-Qaida to the Shiite-led Iraqi government. The president brought the two groups together around a conference table and he says he gave them a message. "Secretary Gates, Secretary Rice, and I discussed with the Iraqi leaders that there has been security success. Now it is important for government to follow up," he said.

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President Bush (center) meets Iraqi tribal leaders during visit to Anbar province

The president said the Iraqi leaders at all levels have to use the improved security situation to deliver better lives to the Iraqi people. He also pledged not to abandon Iraq, despite calls from some members of congress for a U.S. troop withdrawal⁵ to begin this year.

The president urged the congress to hold its debate until it hears directly from General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker next week. And he said policy decisions will be based on the recommendations of his field commanders, not on what he called nervous reactions from politicians or public opinion polls.

Officials say the president will make key decisions about his Iraq policy after the Petraeus/Crocker testimony⁶.

The president made the unannounced detour⁷ to Iraq while on his way to Australia for regional meetings, bringing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with him. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and senior military officers had arrived about 90 minutes earlier, creating an exceptional gathering⁸ of top U.S. national security officials in a foreign country. All the travel was shrouded⁹ in unusual levels of secrecy¹⁰ and security.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell says the meetings here bring together the president's war council with top Iraqi leaders for meetings that will play a key role in decisions the president will make soon about the future of U.S. policy toward Iraq, including troop levels. Many members of congress are calling for the start of a U.S. troop withdrawal this year, but combat commanders have said that would be too soon.

But the commanders acknowledge that the surge forces will begin to return home next April, at the latest, and it would be difficult for the U.S. military to replace them.

U.S. officials say that gives Iraqi politicians just a few months to forge some sort of national reconciliation¹¹ in the environment of enhanced security the surge has provided, and the Iraqis have been unable to move very quickly on that so far.

It is unusual for so many senior U.S. civilian¹² and military officials converge¹³ anywhere in the world for meetings with foreign leaders. But with so much attention focused on next week's progress reports, the senior official says there was no better way to assess the situation than to meet in person with the Iraqi officials and look the U.S. commanders in the eye.

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 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。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

5 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。

6 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

7 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

11 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。

12 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

13 converge   

vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近

参考例句：

• The results converge towards this truth.其结果趋近于这个真理。
• Parallel lines converge at infinity.平行线永不相交。