2007年VOA标准英语-Top US Congressional Democrats Urge Bush Not to

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
05 January 2007

The top leaders of the new Democratic-led U.S. Congress are urging President Bush not to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. Their comments, in a letter to the president Friday, come as Mr. Bush is preparing to announce an overhaul² of his Iraq strategy next week that could include a short-term surge in troop strength. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

 
Nancy Pelosi, 5 Jan 2007
In their letter to President Bush, the top Democrat¹ in the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the top Democrat in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry³ Reid, wrote that adding more combat troops in Iraq would only endanger more Americans and stretch the U.S. military to the breaking point for no strategic gain.

News reports say President Bush may call for a temporary increase of some 20,000 troops when he addresses the nation next week.

Pelosi and Reid urged the president to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq in four to six months, and shift the mission of U.S. forces there from combat to training and logistical support.

 
Harry Reid, 5 Jan 2007
Senator Reid offered similar comments on the Senate floor Thursday. He said, "The president's new plan must ensure that Iraq takes responsibility for their own future, and remove our troops from this civil war."

Another key Senate Democrat, Senator Joe Biden, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, also opposes a short-term increase in U.S. troops in Iraq.

In an interview published in the Washington Post Friday, Biden says he believes top officials in the Bush administration have privately⁴ concluded they have lost Iraq and are simply trying to postpone⁵ disaster so the next president - in his words - will be the one landing helicopters inside the Green Zone, taking people off the roof - in a chaotic⁶ withdrawal⁷ reminiscent of the U.S. pullout from the Vietnam War.

But Senator John McCain, a Republican member of the Armed Services Committee and himself a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, took issue with Biden's comments.

 
Sen. John McCain  (14 Dec 2006)
"I believe that the war is still winnable," he said. "But to prevail, we will need to do everything right and the Iraqis will have to do their part."

McCain, who is expected to seek the Republican nomination⁸ for president next year, made his comments at a forum⁹ in Washington. He has long called for increasing U.S. troops in Iraq.

"The presence of additional coalition¹⁰ forces would give the Iraqi government the ability to do what it can not accomplish today on its own: impose its rule throughout the country," said McCain.

Echoing McCain's comments at the same forum was Senator Joe Lieberman, who abandoned his Democratic Party affiliation¹¹ to become an Independent during his tough reelection bid last year.

He said, "We need to restore security to open the possibility for Iraqi politics and economy to take off."

Key House and Senate Committees are planning a series of hearings on the Iraq war beginning next week. Defense¹² Secretary Robert Gates and the chairman of the Joint¹³ Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, are expected to testify on Capitol Hill after President Bush delivers his speech to the nation.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

3 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

4 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

5 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

6 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

7 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。

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

10 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。

11 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

12 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。

13 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。