2006年VOA标准英语-Bush, Maliki Meeting Postponed

By Scott Stearns
Amman, Jordan
29 November 2006

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and U.S. President George Bush put off their meeting in Jordan until Thursday.  VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, Bush Administration officials say the change in the scheduled meeting had nothing to do with the leaking of a classified White House memo¹ raising questions about the Iraqi prime minister's ability to deal with sectarian violence.

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President George Bush (L) speaks as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (C) and his Defence Minister Abdel Kader Jassem al-Obeidi listen to him during a meeting in Baghdad
President Bush was to have met with the Iraqi prime minister and Jordan's King Abdullah Wednesday before dinner at Amman's Raghadan Palace.

But White House officials say the Jordanian and Iraqi leaders decided² to forgo³ the trilateral meeting after the prime minister met with King Abdullah earlier in the day.

Iraqi and Jordanian officials notified the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, Zalmay Khalizad, about the schedule change, and he then telephoned President Bush on Air Force One en route from the NATO summit in Latvia.

Mr. Bush, however, met privately⁴ with King Abdullah to discuss Syria's involvement in Lebanon and ways to strengthen the Palestinian Authority.

White House Counselor⁵ Dan Bartlett says the change was in no way related to the publication of a classified White House memo that raises doubts about the Iraqi leader.

In a report published Wednesday, the New York Times says the November 8 memo from U.S. National Security Adviser⁶ Stephen Hadley expresses serious concerns about the prime minister's capacity to control sectarian violence.

Reacting to the newspaper report, senior White House officials say President Bush is convinced of the prime minister's determination to deal with the fundamental challenges in Iraq: namely security, the economy, political reconciliation⁷, and regional diplomacy⁸.

While the officials say Mr. Bush was not pleased the memo was leaked, many of the questions it raises have already been discussed publicly. U.S. officials say much of the action the memo recommends is already taking place.

For example, they say Prime Minister Maliki is moving against those in the Interior Ministry⁹ and police force who abet¹⁰ sectarian violence. He has also backed renewing the United Nations multinational¹¹ force mandate¹².

President Bush is under increasing political pressure at home to show greater progress in Iraq, especially following his political party's losses in both houses of Congress in this month's elections.

Much of that campaigning focused on the war in Iraq, and some opposition¹³ leaders from the Democratic Party are calling for a reduction of U.S. troops levels there.

 
President Bush during his press conference in the Grand Hall at Latvia University, Tuesday, 28 Nov. 2006 in Riga, Latvia 
Speaking before his talks in Jordan, President Bush said that is a decision for military commanders in the field, not politicians in Washington.

"We'll continue to be flexible, and we'll make the changes necessary to succeed," said Mr. Bush.  "But there's one thing I'm not going to do. I am not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete."

White House officials say President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki will meet for breakfast Thursday as scheduled before taking questions from reporters.

1 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 forgo   

v.放弃，抛弃

参考例句：

• Time to prepare was a luxuary he would have to forgo.因为时间不够，他不得不放弃做准备工作。
• She would willingly forgo a birthday treat if only her warring parents would declare a truce.只要她的父母停止争吵，她愿意放弃生日宴请。

4 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

5 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

8 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 abet   

v.教唆，鼓励帮助

参考例句：

• Do not abet your friend to pry into other people's privacy.不要唆使朋友去窥探别人隐私。
• Be do grateful to those who rebuke you,because they abet your wisdom!一定要感激那些斥责你的人，因为他们助长了你的智慧！

11 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

12 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

13 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。