2006年VOA标准英语-US Congressional Democrats Say Bush Iraq Policy

By Deborah Tate
Washington
25 October 2006

U.S. Congressional Democrats² say President Bush's policy on Iraq is in disarray³. They renewed their calls on the administration to set a timetable to begin a phased withdrawal⁴ of U.S. troops.

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Although President Bush has abandoned the phrase "stay the course" to describe U.S. policy on Iraq - emphasizing instead flexibility⁵ in the effort to secure a stable Iraq - opposition⁶ Democrats in Congress say nothing has really changed with the administration's approach. 

Senator Carl Levin

Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the top Democrat¹ on the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke⁷ to reporters in a conference call. "The White House may be changing its rhetoric⁸ about staying the course, saying they are not going to use that term anymore. They have dropped the rhetoric, but the policies are the same - the same failed stay the course policies were reiterated⁹ by the President this morning," he said.

In a written statement, the Senate's top Democrat, Senator Harry¹⁰ Reid of Nevada, said the administration's Iraq policy, like Iraq itself "is in disarray." He said it is increasingly clear that the president does not know what to do to stop the violence.

The Senate Democrats were reacting to Mr. Bush's news conference Wednesday, when the president underscored his determination to see the U.S. effort in Iraq to a successful conclusion.

The president said he does not have unlimited¹¹ patience with the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, but he emphasized the importance of setting benchmarks, or goals, and striving to meet them.

But Senator Levin said setting benchmarks without pressing the Iraqi government to meet them will not result in success. "Saying that we are going to set some timelines without real pressure on the Iraqis to meet those timelines, is simply more of the same stay-the-course policies that we have seen from this administration for the last three years," he said.

Although Mr. Bush rejected timetables for a withdrawal of U.S. troops, Senator Levin said setting a date to begin a troop pullout would be the only way to pressure the Iraqi government to make the necessary political compromises that are essential to creating a stable Iraq.

At a speech in Washington, Senator Elizabeth Dole¹², a Republican from North Carolina and chairman of the committee tasked with helping¹³ Republicans win seats in the Senate in the November 7 midterm elections, reiterated her opposition to setting timelines for troop withdrawals¹⁴ from Iraq. "It is vital to complete this mission in terms of our national security, ladies and gentlemen, and for the future stability of the Middle East, and indeed, the world," he said.

Public opinion polls show a majority of Americans disapprove¹⁵ of President Bush's handling of Iraq. Democrats hope voter sentiment on Iraq will translate into Republican losses in the November 7 elections, possibly resulting in Democrats taking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

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 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

4 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。

5 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。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

9 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

10 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。

11 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

12 dole   

n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给

参考例句：

• It's not easy living on the dole.靠领取失业救济金生活并不容易。
• Many families are living on the dole since the strike.罢工以来，许多家庭靠失业救济金度日。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

15 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。