VOA标准英语2008年-Bush Says US Troop Build-Up in Iraq Bringing 'H

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
12 January 2008

President Bush says the so-called "surge" strategy in Iraq is working. The president gave this assessment¹ of the situation in Iraq Saturday in Kuwait. It is one of several stops on a tour of the Middle East to build support for his administration's efforts to stabilize² Iraq and to contain Iran's growing influence in the region. VOA correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from our Middle East bureau in Cairo.

President Bush said the United States' surge in Iraq has sharply reduced violence there and should allow the military to finish withdrawing 20,000 troops on schedule by the middle of the year.

The president spoke³ to reporters after meeting with his top military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.

"Iraq is now a different place from one year ago. Much hard work remains⁴, but levels of violence are significantly reduced. Hope is returning to Baghdad, and hope is returning to towns and villages throughout the country. Iraqis who fled the violence are beginning to return and rebuild their lives," he said.

The president said he has made no decision on withdrawing more troops from Iraq. He said that will depend on recommendations by General Petraeus, who is due to report to Congress on that issue in March. A day earlier, the president told the NBC television network that U.S. troops could remain in Iraq for at least a decade.

Mr. Bush also called on Syria to cut what he called "the flow of terrorists" into Iraq. He accused Iran of supporting militias⁵ and extremist groups in Iraq, and urged it to stop.

"Iranian agents are in our custody⁶, and we are learning more about how Iran has supported extremist groups with training and lethal⁷ aid," he said.

Iran and Syria have both denied fueling violence in Iraq, and have complained that the chaos⁸ there risks destabilizing both of their countries.

Later, the president addressed a crowd of some 1,500 American troops at a U.S. military base in Kuwait.

"The history will say, it was when you were called upon, you served, and the service you rendered was absolutely necessary to defeat an enemy overseas so we do not have to face them here at home," he said.

Mr. Bush said the troops are part of what he called "an ideological⁹ struggle" against "cold-blooded murderers" with a "hateful vision of a future." He said the best way to defeat an ideology¹⁰ of hate is with an ideology of hope, based on liberty.

After meeting with the troops, the president attended a roundtable discussion with Kuwaiti women activists¹¹ working for women's rights and democracy.

Although Kuwait is a close U.S. ally, there is deep anxiety there about some U.S. policies. With a large Shi'ite population and a large U.S. troop presence, Kuwait is worried about the possibility of a U.S. military strike on Iran. The emirate has said it will not allow its territory to be used in such an attack. It is also concerned about a spillover of violence from neighboring Iraq.

After Kuwait, the president continued to Bahrain, headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. He will later visit the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt before returning to Washington next week.

1 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？

2 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 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。

5 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

6 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

7 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

8 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

9 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

10 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》