2006年VOA标准英语-US Defense Chief Meets Top Iraqi Leaders

By Margaret Besheer
Baghdad
21 December 2006

The new U.S. Defense¹ Secretary, Robert Gates, visited with troops in Baghdad and held meetings with top Iraqi officials on the second day of a trip to Iraq. His visit comes as President Bush is considering whether to send as many as 30,000 more troops to Iraq to help quell² growing sectarian violence. VOA's Margaret Besheer has more on the secretary's visit from Baghdad.

Robert Gates, left, meets with Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki, right, in Baghdad, 20 Dec 2006

Secretary Gates told reporters he asked the soldiers for what advice they might have for him. He said like most people on the front lines of a battle they would like to have more troops, but he said there are many factors that will ultimately go into that decision.

"We have to take into account the views of the Iraqi government, the views of our own leadership, the views of our own military leadership in taking that into account," he said.

But he was vague on whether the Iraqi government wanted more American troops.

"I would say what we discussed is how we can help the Iraqi government in establishing better security here in Baghdad," he added.  "I can say that no numbers of additional troops or of troops were discussed. The focus was mainly on an overall approach, including the possibility of some additional assistance. But as I say, we really did not discuss any numbers we were talking in broader terms than that."

The secretary will make his recommendations to President Bush when he returns to Washington. He said he has learned a lot during his meetings which will help him formulate³ his advice to the president.

Thursday, Gates met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's defense minister, and the Iraqi Security Council. He said the meetings were very positive, and that the United States and Iraq are partners in this process.

"The success of our partnership⁴ cannot happen without the security of the Iraqi people," he noted⁵.  "To that end we discussed a wide range of options, and as we said yesterday, 'all options are on the table'."

The urgent need for improved security was apparent when a suicide bomber⁶ wearing an explosives-filled vest blew himself up in eastern Baghdad.  Officials say more than a dozen people were killed and more than a dozen wounded, many of them police officers and recruits at the Baghdad Police College.

1 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。

2 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

3 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。