2007年VOA标准英语-General Casey Defends Iraq Record from US Senat

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
01 February 2007

The officer President Bush has nominated to head the U.S. Army defended his record in his current job as commander of coalition¹ forces in Iraq amid sharp criticism at a Senate hearing Thursday. VOA's Al Pessin reports on the confirmation² hearing for General George Casey.

 
John McCain (file photo)
Senators peppered General Casey with questions about the deterioration³ in the security situation in Baghdad in recent years, and pointed⁴ out that his past predictions about U.S. troop reductions have not been accurate. Some of the strongest criticism came from Republican Senator John McCain, who is expected to seek his party's nomination⁵ for president next year.

"I question seriously the judgment⁶ that was employed in your execution of your responsibilities in Iraq," he said. "And we have paid a very, very heavy price in American blood and treasure because of what is now agreed to by literally⁷ everyone is a failed policy."

General Casey agreed with Senator McCain and others that things have not gone as he had hoped in Iraq, but he said the strategy he helped develop and implement⁸ was not a failure.

 
General George Casey in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, 1 Feb 2007
"Senator, I do not agree that we have a failed policy," he said. "I believe the president's new strategy will enhance the policy that we have."

General Casey said the new Iraq plan President Bush announced last month maintains the strategy of handing responsibility to Iraqi forces as quickly as possible. He said the new element is the effort to restore security in Baghdad. The general says he believes two additional U.S. brigades - about 7,000 troops - would be enough. President Bush has promised five brigades and Senator McCain says even more may be needed. Again, General Casey disagreed.

"I recognize we have a fundamental disagreement," he said. "And in my mind, the question has always been, 'Should we do it or should they do it?' 'It' being restore security. What I have tried to do in my time there is strike the right balance that allowed the Iraqi security forces and the government to keep moving forward, but at the same time having enough coalition presence there so that we could get the job done."

In the past, General Casey has warned that sending too many U.S. troops to Iraq would slow the development of the new Iraqi security forces. He said the Iraqi military is on track to take security responsibility for the entire country by the end of this year, but coalition forces will still need to provide some capabilities⁹, such as air support.

The general is now supervising the initial implementation¹⁰ of President Bush's new plan. He told the Senate committee that so far the Iraqi government is fulfilling its commitment to prevent political interference in military operations in Baghdad.

"We will continue to monitor the delivery on these commitments, but so far the results have been heartening," he said.

 
Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, 23 Jan 2007
If he is confirmed by the Senate as Chief of Staff of the Army, General Casey will move out of the operational chain of command and will be responsible for the recruiting, training and equipping of the million-member U.S. Army. The Senate has already confirmed his replacement¹¹ as coalition commander in Iraq, Lieutenant¹² General David Petraeus, an expert in counterinsurgency. If General Casey is confirmed in his new job he is expected to hand over command in Iraq to General Petraeus this month.

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 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。

3 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 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。

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

9 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

11 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

12 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。