2007年VOA标准英语-Bush to Unveil New Strategy for Iraq

By Scott Stearns
White House
10 January 2007

U.S. President George Bush is set to announce what he says will be a new way forward in the war in Iraq.  [Watch the president's address here at VOANews.com at 0200 UTC Thursday, 11 January 2007.]  VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, Mr. Bush is expected to announce a temporary increase in U.S. troops there.

George W. Bush

White House officials say President Bush will announce plans to send more than 17,000 additional U.S. troops to Baghdad and 4,000 more to the western Anbar Province.  The first are expected to arrive next week, joining the more than 130,000 American troops in Iraq.

President Bush will present his plan in a nationwide address at a time when a majority of Americans believe the war in Iraq was a mistake.  A public-opinion poll released by the newspaper USA Today this week says just 12 percent of Americans support sending more troops to Iraq.

Opposition¹ Democrats², now in charge of both houses of Congress, say they oppose sending more troops.

A senior administration official says President Bush will say those who criticize his plan have the burden to come forward with a better alternative.  That official told reporters President Bush will admit the current strategy is clearly not working, and the situation is unacceptable to him and to the American people.

The official says the five additional U.S. brigades for Baghdad will serve in support of Iraqi forces, which will take the lead in restoring security.

[In excerpts³ of the speech released in advance by the White House, Mr. Bush says U.S. efforts to secure Baghdad failed because there were not enough Iraqi and American forces in the capital.

In the speech excerpts, Mr. Bush says "only the Iraqis can end sectarian violence" and secure their nation. He says the Iraqi government "has put forth⁴ an aggressive plan" to do that.

Mr. Bush also warns that to pull out U.S. troops now would "force a collapse⁵ of the Iraqi government."

In the excerpts, Mr. Bush says the U.S. commitment to Iraq "is not open-ended." He says the Iraqi government will lose the support of the U.S. and Iraqi people if it fails to follow through with its commitments.]

The administration official says President Bush will speak of the consequences of failure in Iraq and how this experiment in democracy is part of a broader struggle in the Middle East between moderates and extremists.

The president will ask Congress for more than $5 billion to pay for his new strategy. 

That includes more than $400 million to expand provincial⁶ reconstruction⁷ teams and $400 million in so-called quick-response funds to address civilian⁸ problems.

Following Wednesday night's nationwide address, the White House will work to rally support for the new plan with public appearances by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense⁹ Secretary Robert Gates, as well as a Thursday speech by the president to U.S. troops in the southern state of Georgia.

1 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。

2 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》

3 excerpts   

n.摘录，摘要( excerpt的名词复数 )；节选（音乐，电影）片段

参考例句：

• Some excerpts from a Renaissance mass are spatchcocked into Gluck's pallid Don Juan music. 一些文艺复光时期的弥撒的选节被不适当地加入到了格鲁克平淡无味的唐璜音乐中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is editing together excerpts of some of his films. 他正在将自己制作的一些电影的片断进行剪辑合成。 来自辞典例句

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

7 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 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。