2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Meets Pentagon Leaders on Iraq

By Scott Stearns
White House
13 December 2006

U.S. President George Bush is wrapping up a series of meetings aimed at finding what he says will be a new way forward in Iraq. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, Mr. Bush is expected to announce that strategy early next year.

Joint1 Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace and Vice2 President Dick Cheney " hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070512/0852250.jpg" width="180" vspace="2" border="0" />

From right: President Bush, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace and Vice President Dick Cheney

President Bush met with senior defense³ officials in the last publicly-scheduled consultation⁴ on Iraq before he and his national security team decide on the new way forward.

"I will be delivering my plans after a long deliberation, after steady deliberation," said President Bush. "I am not going to be rushed into making a difficult decision, a necessary decision to say to our troops, 'We are going to give you the tools necessary to succeed and a strategy to help you succeed.'"

President Bush says it is in America's interest to help Iraq's government sustain itself, defend itself, and become an ally in the broader fight against terrorism.

"We are not going to give up," he said. "The stakes are too high and the consequences too grave to turn Iraq over to extremists who want to do the American people and the Iraqi people harm."

During his time at the Pentagon, Mr. Bush met with the , their chairman General Peter Pace, and outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as well as his successor, Robert Gates.

Before those talks, the president telephoned Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Kurdish regional leader Massoud Barzani.

Also included in his consultations⁵ this week were Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, U.S. commanders in Iraq and senior officials from the State Department and National Security Council.

White House Spokesman Tony Snow says the broad review of U.S. policy in Iraq has in no way slowed ongoing⁶ military operations there.

"It is not the case that the people have returned to barracks and corked-up the cannons⁷ and said, 'We'll just await further orders.' As a matter of fact, there are continuing, aggressive, ongoing operations against terror cells within Baghdad," said Tony Snow. "There have been very active operations within Anbar in recent weeks."

Snow says the president wants the new way forward in Iraq decided⁸ quickly but also done well. He says one of the goals of that new strategy is to inspire confidence in the American people.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll says 70 percent of Americans disapprove⁹ of the way the president is handling the situation in Iraq. A majority of those surveyed believe the United States is losing the war and support the withdrawal¹⁰ of nearly all U.S. combat forces by early 2008.

Falling public support for the war has taken a toll¹¹ on the president's approval ratings. A USA Today/Gallup poll says a majority of Americans - 54 percent - now believe history will judge Mr. Bush as a below-average or poor president. That percentage is more than double the negative rating given any of the last five presidents before him.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 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。

4 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

5 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。