2006年VOA标准英语-Rumsfeld Welcomes Iraq Progress, Supports

By Al Pessin
Washington
09 May 2006
 
 
Donald Rumsfeld
  
U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has welcomed indications by Iraq's new leader that he is close to forming a national unity² government, but said he is still not ready to recommend any reduction in U.S. forces in the country. At a news conference, the secretary also expressed support for the president's nomination³ of an air force general as the next head of the Central Intelligence Agency, but denied reports that he is trying to assert control over all U.S. intelligence operations.

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Secretary Rumsfeld said Iraq's leaders seem to sense that they have what he called a "window of opportunity" to make progress on addressing the country's many problems. "I was encouraged by reports on the comments of the prime minister-designate, Mr. Maliki, in his press conference earlier today, in particular his statement that the government being formed will represent all Iraqis and strengthen the unity of the country," he said.

Secretary Rumsfeld said once the new Iraqi government ministers are in place, they can meet with the coalition⁴ commander in Iraq, and the U.S. ambassador, to begin to assess the security situation and talk about possible foreign troop reductions. He would not predict when that might happen, but the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey, has indicated that if the new government is approved by parliament this month as expected, his recommendations for future troops levels could go to Washington fairly quickly.

Secretary Rumsfeld also called on Congress to fully⁵ fund the supplemental budget for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House of Representatives has removed about $760 million from the budget, which the secretary says will hurt the development of the Iraqi security forces and could delay the expected reduction in U.S. forces in the country.

The defense secretary also denied media reports that the president's appointment of General Michael Hayden as CIA director is part of a Washington power play to give Rumsfeld control over the agency. He said such speculation⁶ is wrong. "It isn't, in my view, something that any one entity⁷ necessarily ought to be in charge of. It's something that we're trying to figure out - the Congress, the executive branch - we're trying to figure out what the arrangements ought to be," he said.

Secretary Rumsfeld also denied contradictory⁸ reports that he does not want General Hayden to run the CIA because of a disagreement they had several years ago. Rumsfeld said the difference of opinion was not a big issue then, and is not a big issue now.

But he did express continuing concern about the accuracy of the intelligence provided to the defense department by the CIA and other agencies, including some inside the department itself. And Rumsfeld agreed with a reporter's suggestion that the problems with intelligence in the run up to the invasion of Iraq cause concern as tensions rise with Iran. "It turns out it was wrong, that intelligence. Fair enough, it's a tough business. It's a difficult thing to be right all the time. And the information was not correct.  Does that give one pause, you bet," he said.

Secretary Rumsfeld said the most important thing right now in the global war on terrorism is to create a stable, democratic Iraq. He said the enemies of the United States recognize that, even if what he called "some observers and pundits⁹" do not.
 
 

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 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

3 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

7 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

8 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

9 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网