2007年VOA标准英语-Petraeus Has Key Job As New US Iraq Commander

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
12 January 2007

Along with his new Iraq strategy and troop increase, President Bush has named a new commander for U.S. and coalition¹ forces in Iraq. He is Lieutenant² General David Petraeus, the man who has spent the last year supervising the re-writing of the army's counterinsurgency manual. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Al Pessin reports on the officer who, if the Senate approves his assignment, will have the pivotal job in the effort to prevent the violence in Iraq from spiraling out of control.

 
Lieutenant Gen. David Petraeus participates in a ceremony in Mosul, Iraq, commemorating³ the 83rd anniversary of the Iraqi Army, 6 Jan 2004
General Petraeus is known as one of the army's top intellectuals. He has a doctorate⁴ in international relations from Princeton University and is a prolific⁵ writer on military issues. He says his education helps him "ask the right questions." But he is also an experienced field commander, having led the famed 101st Airborne Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

During a speech in Washington in November, before his appointment, General Petraeus offered some insight into the type of leader he strives to be.

He said, "All of our wonderful soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines deserve the best leaders our nation can provide, leaders who can deal with the complexities⁶ of the situation in which we are operating today."

"Such leaders must, by necessity, be competent war fighters, and then some, intelligent, aggressive, creative and physically⁷ and mentally tough soldier-statesmen," he added.

"Soldier-statesman" is the approach he brought to his command in northern Iraq in 2003, where he prided himself on aggressively hunting insurgents⁸ during the nights, and conducting humanitarian⁹ and economic development operations during the days.

"We were able to sort of build during the day, we called it, and pick up bad guys at night," said General Petraeus.

That approach is believed to have worked well, and it is built into the new counterinsurgency manual he and his staff wrote last year. It is an approach he is expected to put to the test in Baghdad and other troubled parts of Iraq when he arrives in the midst of the new security operation President Bush announced on Wednesday. The general's arrival date has not yet been set.

One of his co-authors on the manual was retired¹⁰ lieutenant-colonel Conrad Crane, who now teaches at the army's War College.

"The dominant¹¹ theme in the manual really is learning and adapting," he said. "And I think that will be the key to success in an environment as dynamic and complex as Iraq."

Crane was a classmate of General Petraeus at the U.S. Military Academy in the early 1970s, and he says the general is the right man for the difficult assignment in Iraq.

He said, "It's a complicated situation over there, and I think he's the most capable commander that we've got available right now to try to handle it. If anybody can fix the problem, he's the one that can do it. General Petraeus has the unique combination. He's got intellect. He's got passion. He's got the military acumen¹². But he's also got the intellectual, analytical¹³ skills."

That evaluation¹⁴ has been echoed by many retired military officers, and by analysts¹⁵ like Danielle Pletka at the American Enterprise Institute.

"He is a very impressive man," she said. "He understands what is necessary. He is a man, who wants to see the United States win on the ground, and he wants to do what it takes to win."

General Petraeus is not speaking publicly until his new assignment is confirmed by the Senate. But the top U.S. military officer, General Peter Pace, told a Senate committee Friday that General Petraeus believes the new Iraq security plan is the right approach to bringing the violence under control.

 
Defense Secretary Robert Gates (l) looks on as Gen. Peter Pace testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Iraq, 12 Jan 2007
"General Petraeus, in his current role, responsible for doctrine¹⁶ on counterinsurgency operations, has been consulting with the generals in Iraq. And he is very much on board with this," said General Pace.

If approved by the Senate, Lieutenant General Petraeus will become a relatively¹⁷ young full, four-star general at age 54. People who know him attribute his rapid rise to his intellectual rigor¹⁸, physical toughness and competitive nature.

His confidence has alienated¹⁹ some people along the way, but he has also spoken of the value of what he calls "intellectual humility²⁰" for people who have weighty responsibilities.

In addition, General Petraeus will bring to his new job a detailed²¹ knowledge of the Iraqi army, which will be at the center of the Baghdad security operation. He spent a second year in Iraq managing the training of that army in 2004 and 2005.

Many leaders in the Bush administration and the Congress are looking to General Petraeus to salvage²² the situation in Iraq, and create enough stability for a U.S. withdrawal²³ to begin. It is a huge job, and even senior military officers who helped develop the president's new Iraq strategy acknowledge that the outcome of the effort is far from certain.

In his speech in November, General Petraeus indicated he will not sugar-coat whatever happens in Iraq.

"Our job is to be forthright²⁴, I think, and to provide an accurate assessment²⁵ of the situation," he said.

Members of Congress in particular will be eager for that in his confirmation²⁶ hearing, expected during the next few weeks, and even more so after he has had some time back on the ground in Iraq.

1 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。

2 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

3 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

4 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

5 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

6 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

9 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

10 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

11 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

12 acumen   

n.敏锐，聪明

参考例句：

• She has considerable business acumen.她的经营能力绝非一般。
• His business acumen has made his very successful.他的商业头脑使他很成功。

13 analytical   

adj.分析的；用分析法的

参考例句：

• I have an analytical approach to every survey.对每项调查我都采用分析方法。
• As a result,analytical data obtained by analysts were often in disagreement.结果各个分析家所得的分析数据常常不一致。

14 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。

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

16 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

17 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

18 rigor   

n.严酷，严格，严厉

参考例句：

• Their analysis lacks rigor.他们的分析缺乏严谨性。||The crime will be treated with the full rigor of the law.这一罪行会严格依法审理。

19 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

21 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

22 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

23 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。

24 forthright   

adj.直率的，直截了当的 [同]frank

参考例句：

• It's sometimes difficult to be forthright and not give offence.又直率又不得罪人，这有时很难办到。
• He told me forthright just why he refused to take my side.他直率地告诉我他不肯站在我这一边的原因。

25 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？

26 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。