2006年VOA标准英语-Australia Extends Iraq Troop Deployment

By Phil Mercer
Sydney
07 March 2006

Australian troops serving in Iraq are to stay on for another year. The announcement was made by the Australian Defense¹ Minister, Brendan Nelson, during a surprise visit to the country. It had been expected that Canberra would start withdrawing its forces from Iraq's southern Al Muthanna province in the middle of this year.

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Australia troops walk a foot patrol in a residential² neighborhood (File photo)   
  

Australia has 470 soldiers in southern Iraq. Their job is to protect Japanese engineers, and help train Iraqi security forces. The Australians were expected to start heading home in the next few months.

Speaking during a visit to Iraq in the last 24 hours, Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said that the troops' work was far from over, and the deployment³ would last well into 2007. It was - he said - essential that they stay and help stabilize⁴ a troubled country.

Nelson said that after 10 months in the southern part of Iraq, Australian troops had not fired a single shot in anger, and had worked closely with the local community. He thanked the Australian soldiers for their commitment.

"You know, we've got quite a way to go yet in Al Muthanna, and indeed in Iraq, but this is something of which you all and your families can be very, very proud," said Nelson.

Back home, opposition⁵ politicians expressed concern about Canberra's open-ended commitment in Iraq, when countries like Britain are preparing to leave within the next couple of years.

Robert McClelland of the opposition Labor⁶ party believes Australia should have a well-defined exit strategy.

"It seems as though every country who's involved in Iraq is now contemplating⁷ withdrawing their forces from Iraq except Australia, and there is a real risk that we will be left holding the baby, so to speak," he said.

The government of Prime Minister John Howard has been unbending in its support of Washington's campaign in the Middle East. Canberra sent two thousand troops to take part in the war against Saddam Hussein three years ago.

Critics have insisted that Australia's military involvement in the Gulf⁸ has made the country more of a target for extremists, a claim that has been flatly rejected by the Howard government.

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 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

3 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

4 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

5 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。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。