2007年VOA标准英语-US Defense Secretary: Iraqi Government Seems Co

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
12 January 2007

U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates says American troops could begin withdrawing from Iraq later this year if the revised Iraq war plan announced by President Bush this week succeeds in reducing violence in the country.  VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill, where Gates made his comments.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates (l) looks on as Gen. Peter Pace testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Iraq, 12 Jan 2007

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee Friday, Secretary Gates defended President Bush's war strategy, which calls for more than 20,000 additional troops to be sent to Iraq.

Gates said the plan would not end sectarian violence altogether, but he said if it makes significant progress toward that end, it could lead to a drawdown of troops later this year.

"If these operations actually work, you could begin to see a lightening of the U.S. footprint, both in Baghdad and potentially in Iraq, itself," he said.

A number of lawmakers remained skeptical² about the strategy, saying it depended too much on the Iraqi government keeping promises it failed to keep in the past - like the disbanding of sectarian militias³.

"There is a commitment of real [U.S.] troops getting in deeper militarily on our part," said Mr. Levin.  "But on the part of the Iraqis, it is just promises without consequences for the failure to live up to of those promises," said committee chairman Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat⁴

But Secretary Gates expressed his confidence that the Iraqi government is ready to meet its commitments this time.  "I think they recognize they are running out of time, not even in terms of the American political scene, but in terms of their own political scene and the deteriorating⁵ situation in their own capital," he added.

While Gates admitted that the United States has made mistakes in Iraq, he said the consequences of failure would be incalculable.

"I think it is highly likely that there would be a significant increase in sectarian violence in Iraq, that the government would probably would come apart, that the army would might come apart, so you would have increased violence, and an increased interest on the part of other players outside of Iraq in intervening to protect their interests," he explained.

Gates said the United States did not need to attack targets within Iran to counter Iranian elements that the Bush administration says are supporting the Iraqi insurgency⁶.

Echoing the comments was the chairman of the Joint⁷ Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace.  He was asked about Iranian and Syrian support for Iraq's insurgency.

"We know that we have had foreign fighters come through Syria. I do not know the complicity of the government, but we do know that foreign fighters travel through Syria," said General Pace.  "And we do know that Iranian-supplied, made and supplied, weapons are on the streets of Baghdad killing⁸ our troops."

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, expressed strong concern about such efforts.

GRAHAM:  "Well, I would like to be on record for my Senate colleagues to hear this from me, that if, in fact, the Syrian and Iranian governments are complicit in organizations and groups that are trying to kill American troops, I hope we will have the resolve, in a bipartisan fashion, to put them on notice, to put them on notice that that will be unacceptable and all options are on the table when it comes to defending Americans the jobs they are assigned.   Do you agree with that, Secretary Gates?"

GATES:  "Yes, sir."

The revised war strategy outlined by President Bush Wednesday has come under sharp bipartisan criticism.   Senator Graham urged critics to think twice before expressing their opposition⁹ to the plan.

"Criticism, skepticism, is the heart and soul of a democracy," he added.  "But our statements are being viewed not just by the Iraqi government, but those who wish us harm throughout the world.  To my colleagues, I would ask, at least in the short term here, that we measure our words, that we not have a political stampede to declare the war a loss when it is not yet lost, or to embrace strategies that will lead to defeat, because I do believe this is part of the overall war on terror."

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate are planning to bring President Bush's revised war strategy to a vote in both chambers¹⁰ in a symbolic¹¹ action to highlight the lack of support for the plan.

The Senate's top Republican, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has said he would try to block such an attempt in the Senate.

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 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

3 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

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

6 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 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。

10 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

11 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。