2006年VOA标准英语-General Says US Troop Levels Right in Iraq, Ira

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
15 November 2006

The top U.S. commander in the Middle East says now is not the time for a significant increase or decrease in U.S. combat units in Iraq. But the general says there may be an increase in the number of U.S. trainers working directly in Iraqi army units. General John Abizaid testified at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee that it is still possible to achieve stability and self-sufficiency in Iraq, but only if the Iraqi government disbands sectarian militias² very soon.

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Gen. John Abizaid, Nov. 15, 2006

General Abizaid told the committee he met with senior U.S. commanders in Iraq just a few days ago and they all agreed that they do not need more troops.

"I said, 'In your professional opinion, if we were to bring in more American troops now does it add considerably³ to our ability to achieve success in Iraq?' And they all said, 'No.' And the reason is because we want the Iraqis to do more," he said.

General Abizaid said if there were too many U.S. troops in Iraq, it would be easy for Iraqi forces to rely on them to confront the insurgents⁴ and militias. He said U.S. and Iraqi officials want the Iraqi forces to take more responsibility for security as soon as possible.

While the general faced calls from some senators for more troops in Iraq, others called for a timetable for withdrawal⁵. The general also rejected those calls.

"At this stage in the campaign, we'll need flexibility⁶ to manage our force and to help manage the Iraqi force. Force caps and specific timetables limit that flexibility," he said.

The general also departed from Bush administration policy, telling one senator that although he thinks troop levels are right in Iraq now, there should have been more U.S. troops there in the immediate⁷ aftermath of the invasion to help prevent the current situation from developing.

Republican Senator John McCain, who is expected to run for president, criticized General Abizaid for advocating a "status quo" approach in a bad situation.

The general said he does not advocate status quo, but rather wants an increase in Iraqi military and government activity, rather than American.

General Abizaid said one key to the security challenge in Iraq is to move more Iraqi units into leading positions as fast as possible. To do that, he said he is increasing the number of American trainers embedded⁸ with Iraqi units.

He also called on the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to show confidence in the Iraqi troops' growing ability.

"They need to be supported by their own government, he said. "The government needs not to support the sectarian militias. They need to disband the sectarian militias."

The general said there have been some indications recently that the government is becoming more confident in its own troops, and he said it must use those troops to credibly⁹ confront the militias, particularly the one led by powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

He said he told Prime Minister Maliki in a meeting on Monday that that must be done "very soon."

"I think he must move against the Sadr Militia¹ if Iraq is to become a free and sovereign and independent state," he said. "I believe he will, and he will use the Iraqi army to do so, and he will use political activity to ensure the disarmament."

General Abizaid said success in making Iraq stable and prosperous is essential, and that failure in Iraq would embolden¹⁰ Iran and the al-Qaida terrorist network to foment¹¹ instability in the region, and would deepen Sunni-Shi'ite divisions.

Later, at the House of Representatives, the general was asked whether he believes Iraq is close to civil war. "I do not believe that we are close to civil war. I believe civil war is possible if the government does not seriously address the sectarian problem," he said.

General Abizaid made a similar statement in August.

On Wednesday, the general also said violence has gone down a bit in Iraq since the end of the Muslim holy month, Ramadan. But he said the security situation has "not turned the corner" and that much difficult work remains¹² to be done, particularly by the Iraqi government and security forces.

1 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

2 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

3 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

4 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

5 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。

6 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。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

9 credibly   

ad.可信地；可靠地

参考例句：

• I am credibly informed that. 由可靠方面听说。
• An effective management software ensures network to run credibly. 一个高效的网管软件是网络运行的可靠保证。

10 embolden   

v.给…壮胆，鼓励

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine,he went over to introduce himself to her.他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• The Prime Minister was steadily emboldened by the discovery that he faced no opposition.发现自己并未遭到反对，首相渐渐有了信心。

11 foment   

v.煽动，助长

参考例句：

• The rebels know the truth and seek to foment revolution.那些叛乱者知道真相，并且想办法来挑起革命。
• That's an attempt to foment discord.这是挑拨。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。