voa标准英语2008年-Petraeus Takes Responsibility for Iraq and Afgh

General David Petraeus, who is widely credited with turning the Iraq conflict around, took command of all U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia Friday - making him the new Iraq commander's boss and adding Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf¹ and the surrounding region to his responsibilities. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.
　

Gen. David Petraeus, left, shakes hands with outgoing head U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey in Tampa, Fla., 31 Oct. 2008

At a windswept ceremony outside Central Command headquarters in Florida, U.S. Defense² Secretary Robert Gates passed the flag of command to General Petraeus, as hundreds of troops and civilians³ looked on.

Gates called Petraeus one of America's "great battle captains." "He is the preeminent⁵ soldier, scholar, statesman of his generation, and precisely⁶ the man we need at this command at this time."

Petraeus said the mission of Central Command is difficult, but "of enormous importance" to the United States, the region and the world. "From transnational extremist organizations and industrial-strength insurgencies, to weapons proliferation, a rise in piracy⁷ and persistent⁸ ethno-sectarian conflict, the CentCom area contains innumerable challenges."

General Petraeus said addressing those challenges requires not only military action, but coordination⁹ with U.S. government civilian⁴ agencies, coalition¹⁰ partners and countries in the region - what he called a "comprehensive approach."

He said, "This is necessary not just to resolve pressing short-term issues, but to address over time, the underlying¹¹ conditions that give rise to such serious security challenges."

That type of approach fits with the role of a U.S. regional commander. The senior officers in those jobs spend much of their time meeting with foreign leaders and trying to develop and coordinate¹² broad strategies. Petraeus will start with a review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, which is to be ready for the new president and his national security team to review in January.

General Petraeus played a key role in developing the new U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine¹³, which served him well in Iraq, but experts are divided on whether that approach will work in Afghanistan. He said its key principles do apply, including the need to provide security to the people, to train local forces to take over, to talk to reconcilable enemies and to use force to pursue the rest. For that, he said, he will need more U.S. troops in Afghanistan, something the U.S. military services are already working to provide him.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 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。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 preeminent   

adj.卓越的，杰出的

参考例句：

• Washington was recognized as the preeminent spokesman of American Negroes by 1895. 到1895年,华盛顿被公认为美国黑人的卓越代言人。
• He is preeminent because his articles are well written. 他的文章写得很漂亮,卓尔不群。

6 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

7 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

8 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

9 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

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 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

12 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

13 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。