VOA常速英语2008年-Gates in Iraq for Updates on Security, Politics

By Al Pessin
Baghdad
10 February 2008

U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates is in Iraq to get an update from U.S. commanders and senior Iraqi officials, as the United States prepares to resume the drawdown of its forces to the level before the surge President Bush ordered last year. Meanwhile, fighting, attacks kill 50 in Iraq. VOA's Al Pessin is traveling with the secretary and filed this report from Baghdad.

After spending four days in Europe discussing mostly NATO's mission in Afghanistan, Secretary Gates headed east to focus on the other major U.S. defense issue, the war in Iraq. On his aircraft, the secretary told reporters he will be looking for an update from the top U.S. and coalition² commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus.

"I will obviously be interested in hearing from General Petraeus about his evaluation³ of where he stands and what more work he feels he needs to do before he is ready to come back with his recommendations," said Secretary Gates.

In early April, General Petraeus is to make public his recommendation for U.S. force levels in Iraq for the rest of the year, after the surge troops finish withdrawing in July. Secretary Gates has said he hopes the withdrawal⁴ can continue at the same pace, but General Petraeus has said he might call for a pause in the drawdown to assess its impact on the security situation. Secretary Gates says that will be part of a broad discussion he will have with General Petraeus over nearly two hours on Monday.

Whatever General Petraeus recommends will be combined with reports from his military superiors and Secretary Gates, and submitted to President Bush for a final decision on troop levels.

On this trip, Secretary Gates will also visit a forward operating base to get a briefing from ground commanders, and he will meet with senior Iraqi leaders. He was asked what he will have to say to them.

"First of all to congratulate them on the progress that they have made with the passage of the Accountability and Justice Law, the amnesty law, and basically ask them for their appraisal⁵ of progress on the Provincial⁶ Powers Law, and see how they think the process is working, now [that] they seem to have become energized⁷ over the last few weeks, and see what the prospects⁸ are for further success over the next couple of months," he said.

The surge of U.S. forces and the resulting security improvements were designed to create a better atmosphere for the Iraqi government and parliament to approve a series of key laws that are seen as crucial for establishing long-term stability in Iraq. Progress has been much slower than U.S. officials would like, and Secretary Gates says he will convey the United States' continued eagerness for that process to be concluded.

The secretary says he does not plan to bring up the long-term U.S.-Iraq security agreement that officials will soon begin to negotiate. He says such discussions at his level would be premature⁹.

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 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

4 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。

5 appraisal   

n.对…作出的评价；评价，鉴定，评估

参考例句：

• What's your appraisal of the situation?你对局势是如何评估的？
• We need to make a proper appraisal of his work.对于他的工作我们需要做出适当的评价。

6 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。

7 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

8 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

9 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。