2007年VOA标准英语-Sharp Disagreements Voiced on Bush's Iraq Troop

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
11 January 2007

President Bush's decision to add more than 20,000 troops to the U.S. force in Iraq was controversial before it was even official. The big questions now are whether the move will improve the situation or make it worse and what impact it will have on the U.S. military's ability to do its job worldwide. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

 
President Bush
President Bush acknowledged that his strategy in Iraq has not worked. And he said he has decided¹ that one way to change that is by sending more U.S. troops.

"I have committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq," he said. "The vast majority of them -- five brigades -- will be deployed² to Baghdad."

The president said he will also send 4,000 more U.S. troops to violent al-Anbar Province.

He also made clear that the troop increase is only part of his new strategy, and that Iraq's government is also committing more forces and promising³ to counter the influence of sectarian militias⁴.

And the president said he will address regional security concerns, including Iranian and Syrian support for insurgents⁵ in Iraq, by sending a second U.S. aircraft carrier strike group to the region.

For some, like analyst⁶ Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute, the speech was exactly what they wanted to hear.

"We need to increase the number of troops we have on the ground in Iraq, in Baghdad and in Anbar Province in particular if we're going to turn this thing around. I'm not sure that 20,000 will be enough," said Pletka.

Pletka says a broader effort is also needed to provide jobs and development in Iraq, as well as a diplomatic push with Iraq's neighbors -- which is also in the president's plan. But she says more troops and the security they can bring are the key.

She said, "More troops will achieve one thing, which is that they will deliver security to the Iraqi people, something that the United States has not made Job-One [its top priority] in the years that we've been there."

"If we are able to deliver that security, that is the moment when the groups that are now unwilling⁷ to reconcile politically will come to the table," she added.

 
U.S. Army soldiers from the 5th Battalion⁸, 20th Infantry⁹ Regiment¹⁰ throw open a door in an empty house during a predawn sweep of a neighborhood in southern Baghdad, 02 Jan 2007
But sending more troops to Iraq runs counter to U.S. public opinion. The latest poll, published in the USA Today newspaper indicates that just 12 percent of Americans support the move. And many Democratic Party members of Congress say they plan to try to block the deployment¹¹.

Analyst Erik Leaver at Washington's Institute for Policy Studies says troop increases were tried twice last year, and didn't work.

"The proposal to add troops in Iraq and escalating¹² the conflict doesn't make much sense," he said.

Leaver says the United States should set a timetable for withdrawing its troops from Iraq. He says that, rather than more troops, would put pressure on Iraqi leaders to settle their differences and rein¹³ in their militias.

He said, "Withdrawing troops doesn't mean abandoning Iraq. Any discussion around withdrawal¹⁴ has to be coupled with a diplomatic initiative, has to be coupled with a commitment toward jobs programs, a commitment towards reconstruction¹⁵."

"All those things coupled together can help give Iraqis the chance to avert¹⁶ a larger civil war. And I think that that's really the best we can do at this point," he continued.

Military officers are also divided on the issue. The commander of all U.S. forces in the Middle East, General John Abizaid, told Congress in November about a conversation he had had a few days earlier with some of his senior officers in Iraq.

 
General John Abizaid (15 Nov 2006 photo)
"I said, 'In your professional opinion, if we were to bring in more American troops now does it add considerably¹⁷ to our ability to achieve success in Iraq?' And they all said, 'No.' And the reason is because we want the Iraqis to do more," he said.

But since then, many military and civilian¹⁸ experts have concluded that that approach did not work, especially in Baghdad, because the Iraqi troops either were not deployed as promised, or they did not perform well.

Wednesday night, President Bush acknowledged there had not been enough troops to secure the city, and he said that won't happen again.

He said, "This time, we will have the force levels we need to hold the areas that have been cleared."

The president said military commanders have endorsed¹⁹ his new plan. He said violence in Iraq will not end immediately, and there will be more casualties. But he said the new approach will work in the long term.

Just how long he has is a matter of some debate. The increase in U.S. troops in Iraq will further strain the U.S. Army and Marine²⁰ Corps²¹, which are already close to operating at their maximum planned deployment rates. Still, officials say the military can support this increase, and do it quickly, as long as it does not have to sustain the higher numbers for very long.

 
General Peter Pace
The top U.S. military officer, General Peter Pace, spoke²² about the issue in November.

"There's a rotation²³ base that that force is part of," he said. "And if you determine to surge more today, you are using it today and not having it available for tomorrow. It's pure math when you get to that."

No one is saying exactly how long the Iraq troop surge will last. But General Pace's math, along with domestic political pressures, give President Bush's new strategy, including the troop increase, a limited amount of time to turn the complex and difficult situation in Iraq around.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

5 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

8 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

9 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

10 regiment   

n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制

参考例句：

• As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
• They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

11 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。

12 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

13 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

14 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。

15 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。

16 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

17 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

18 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。

19 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

21 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

22 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。

23 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。