2006年VOA标准英语-War on Terrorism Shapes up as a Major Issu

By Jim Malone and Kathy Scarrah
Washington, DC
16 February 2006
 
view War on Terror report
 
 
Politics and the War on Terror, al-Qaida leader Osama bin¹ Laden²
  
President Bush continues his push to rally domestic support for the U.S.-led effort in Iraq and the overall war on terrorism.  But with congressional elections looming³ in November, opposition⁴ Democratic Party members are not backing away from criticizing the president's handling of Iraq and the war on terror. VOA's Jim Malone takes a closer look.

---------------------------------------------

The president's effort to buttress⁵ public support for the situation in Iraq and the overall war on terror began late in 2005 amid opinion polls that showed dwindling⁶ public confidence in his handling of both issues.

President George W. Bush  
  
In recent days, Mr. Bush has remained on the offensive as he described one of the guiding principles of his presidency⁷. "September 11th, 2001, our nation saw that vast oceans and great distances could no longer keep us safe.  I made a decision that day that America will not wait to be attacked again."

Opposition Democrats⁸ are somewhat split on what to do about Iraq.  A group that includes Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi favors a  withdrawal⁹ of U.S. troops over the next several months.  But many Democrats in Congress believe U.S. forces will have to stay much longer in order to help bring stability to Iraq.

And many Democrats are not shy about criticizing the president's overall handling of the war on terror.  

Senator Joe Biden  
  
Democratic Senator Joe Biden sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  He spoke¹⁰ on ABC's This Week program. "The president made a speech four years ago about the axis¹¹ of evil.   What's happened, George? Korea has four times more nuclear capability¹² than it had before. Iran's on the brink¹³ of nuclear capability. Iraq is somewhat in chaos¹⁴ and with Iran's influence growing. They've gotten failing grades from the 9/11 Commission for not protecting our ports, our roads, our highways, and our air lanes."

The president's Republican supporters point to the fact that there have been no further attacks on the U.S. mainland since the 9-11 attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Mr. Bush says the war on terrorism has produced success against al-Qaida.  But he is also quick to warn Americans not to become complacent¹⁵. "We cannot let the fact that America has not been attacked in four and one-half years since September 11th lull¹⁶ us into an illusion that the threats to our nation have disappeared.  They have not."

Political experts believe the president is right to continue to rally support both for Iraq and the war on terrorism.

Amy Walter is the Senior Editor of The Cook Political Report, a non-partisan publication, which provides analysis of American politics.  "For Republicans and for the President, this is an issue in which they continue to have positive ratings for voters.  In fact, when you look at the whole litany of issues out there that voters are interested in, terrorism is basically the one issue in which Republicans have an advantage over Democrats."  

Amy Walter   
  
Miss Walter says since the Vietnam War, when Democrats were associated with the anti-war movement, the Republican Party has been strongly associated with defense¹⁷ and national security issues.

She says Democrats will attempt to find a delicate political balance in advance of the November congressional elections, and the 2008 presidential campaign.

"They want to go up against whoever the Republican nominee¹⁸ is as strong as possible on national security issues, to be credentialed on those issues.  Basically, to say that this is not something that only Republicans can talk about."

Republicans have been encouraged by a slight boost in the president's popularity since he began his series of speeches to buttress support for Iraq and the war on terror. 

But Democrats believe they have an opportunity to make gains in the November election, saying Republicans will be on the defensive¹⁹ over Iraq and domestic issues like the economy, the growing cost of health care and a congressional corruption²⁰ scandal involving once powerful Republican lobbyist, Jack²¹ Abramoff.

Miss Walter agrees. "This is the first midterm election where it looks like we have the traditional makings of a change election, a referendum election. "

One-third of the U.S. Senate and all 435 representatives will be on the November ballot²².

1 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

2 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

3 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

4 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。

5 buttress   

n.支撑物；v.支持

参考例句：

• I don't think they have any buttress behind them.我认为他们背后没有什么支持力量。
• It was decided to buttress the crumbling walls.人们决定建造扶壁以支撑崩塌中的墙。

6 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

7 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

8 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》

9 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。

10 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。

11 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

12 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

13 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

14 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

15 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

16 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

17 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。

18 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

19 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

20 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

21 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

22 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。