VOA标准英语2014--Little Progress in US Authorization for Fight Against Islamic State

 

Little Progress in US Authorization¹ for Fight Against Islamic State

CAPITOL HILL—

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says Congress should give President Barack Obama flexibility² in combating Islamic State fighters, if and when lawmakers approve a military authorization. Months into a U.S.-led air campaign against Sunni extremists, Congress appears no closer to passing an authorization, and the administration is not spelling out a proposal of its own.

As airstrikes continue over Iraq and Syria, an authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) remains³ elusive⁴. Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the desire for an AUMF is genuine.

“I am here to work with you on behalf of the administration to get this done. And the president has said all along that he wants an AUMF,” he said.

That prompted a curt⁵ response from committee Chairman Robert Menendez.

“There is a famous movie that says, ‘Show me the money.’ I would say, ‘Show me the [administration’s AUMF] language,’” he said.

Menendez has proposed an authorization lasting⁶ three years that rules out U.S. ground troops in combat operations.

“Americans will not be supportive of an authorization of an endless war," he said. "They do not want us to occupy Iraq for decades. In my view, deployment⁷ of ground troops at this time would be 'Groundhog Day' in Iraq all over again.”

Kerry praised the Menendez draft, but urged greater flexibility for the president.

He noted⁸ the Obama has ruled out U.S. ground combat operations, but also cited the importance of flexibility.

“It does not mean that we should preemptively bind⁹ the hands of the commander-in-chief or our commanders in the field in responding to scenarios¹⁰ and contingencies¹¹ that are impossible to foresee,” Kerry said.

The Senate panel could vote on an AUMF as early as Thursday. But with Congress expected to adjourn¹² in the coming days, full congressional passage is all but impossible for now, a fact noted by the committee’s top Republican, Senator Bob Corker.

“I know we are not going to get to a place where the House and Senate pass an authorization," he said. "And I just want to say that we weaken our nation when we begin a process like that and we do not actually enact¹³ it in law.”

Despite strong bipartisan support for the fight against Islamic State, neither the administration nor a politically divided Congress is eager to wrestle¹⁴ with an authorization for the use of military force, according to political analyst¹⁵ Stuart Rothenberg.

"I think this is a classic example of a hot potato no one wants to address. It is a complicated issue, nobody has a good strategy and therefore politicians are trying to finesse¹⁶ it," he said.

The current air campaign is being waged under authorizations passed by Congress after the 2001 terrorist attacks to combat al-Qaida and its affiliates¹⁷.

Kerry says Islamic State is an off-shoot of al-Qaida, so the existing AUMF is sufficient, but that an updated authorization would be beneficial. That task will be left to the next Congress, which will convene¹⁸ in January.  

1 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

2 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

3 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。

4 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

5 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

7 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

10 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

11 contingencies   

n.偶然发生的事故，意外事故( contingency的名词复数 )；以备万一

参考例句：

• We must consider all possible contingencies. 我们必须考虑一切可能发生的事。
• We must be prepared for all contingencies. 我们要作好各种准备，以防意外。 来自辞典例句

12 adjourn   

v.（使）休会，（使）休庭

参考例句：

• The motion to adjourn was carried.休会的提议通过了。
• I am afraid the court may not adjourn until three or even later.我担心法庭要到3点或更晚时才会休庭。

13 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。

14 wrestle   

vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付

参考例句：

• He taught his little brother how to wrestle.他教他小弟弟如何摔跤。
• We have to wrestle with difficulties.我们必须同困难作斗争。

15 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

16 finesse   

n.精密技巧，灵巧，手腕

参考例句：

• It was a disappointing performance which lacked finesse.那场演出缺乏技巧，令人失望。
• Lillian Hellman's plays are marked by insight and finesse.莉莲.赫尔曼的巨作以富有洞察力和写作技巧著称。

17 affiliates   

附属企业( affiliate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She affiliates with an academic society. 她是某学术团体的成员。
• For example, these security affiliates participated in the floating of 19,000,000,000 of issues in 1927. 例如，这些证券发行机构在1927年的流通证券中，就提供了一百九十亿美元的证券。

18 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。