2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Wants More Troops for Darfur

By Scott Stearns
White House
17 February 2006

President Bush says peace in Sudan would help end attacks by Ugandan rebels based in southern Sudan.  Mr. Bush also called for more troops to protect Sudanese refugees displaced by ethnic¹ violence in the western Darfur region.

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George Bush
  

President Bush says Ugandan military efforts to defeat rebels from a group known as the Lord's Resistance Army would be more successful if those rebels were denied the ability to hide amidst the instability across the border in southern Sudan.

"There's no doubt it would be easier to deal with the Lord's group if we were able to achieve peace between north and south Sudan," he said.  "They take advantage of instability."

Responding to a query² in a question-and-answer session with Republican supporters in Florida, President Bush says he has discussed the rebel issue with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and remains³ committed to finding a solution.

The Lord's Resistance Army is comprised mainly of northern Ugandans who say that President Museveni is ignoring their area. The group has little in the way of a political agenda and is best known for kidnapping children to use as porters, sex slaves, and future fighters.

President Bush says he hopes a peace agreement between southern Sudanese rebels and the government in Khartoum will return some sense of normalcy to southern Sudan and force out Ugandan rebels.

Mr. Bush also discussed the humanitarian⁴ crisis facing Sudanese civilians⁵ displaced by three years of ethnic violence in the western Darfur region.

He met with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan this week to discuss the issue and how best to bolster⁶ an African Union peacekeeping force that has been hurt by logistic limitations in an area the size of France.

"We need more troops," said Mr. Bush.  "The effort was noble, but it didn't achieve the objective, so I am in the process now of working with a variety of folks to encourage there to be more troops, probably under the United Nations."

President Bush did not offer to send American troops to Darfur. U.N. officials say they expect Washington will provide transport and equipment to a larger force.
 
President Bush Friday telephoned NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop⁷ Scheffer to discuss how NATO might boost efforts to stop the violence in Darfur.

More than two million civilians have been driven from their land by Arab militia⁸ who human rights groups say are backed by Khartoum. The Sudanese government says it does not support the militia and is working to restore order in the region.  Tens of thousands of people are believed to have been killed in the violence.

President Bush says one of the problems is that rebels in the area are not united in their objectives, complicating political and diplomatic efforts to hammer out a solution

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 query   

n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑

参考例句：

• I query very much whether it is wise to act so hastily.我真怀疑如此操之过急地行动是否明智。
• They raised a query on his sincerity.他们对他是否真诚提出质疑。

3 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。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

6 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

7 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

8 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。