2007年VOA标准英语-Key Democrat Calls For New Direction in Iraq

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
24 January 2007

Democratic Senator James Webb called for a new direction in Iraq, one based on regional diplomacy¹, in his party's official response to President Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday night. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

James Webb

Senator Webb, an outspoken² critic of the Iraq war, urged a new way forward in Iraq, one that would allow U.S. troops to begin withdrawing.

"We need a new direction,"said Senator Webb. " Not one step back from the war against international terrorism. Not a precipitous withdrawal³ that ignores the possibility of further chaos⁴. But an immediate⁵ shift toward strong regionally-based diplomacy, a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq's cities, and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq."

Senator Webb's son is serving in Iraq, and his Marine⁶ unit has just been extended another two months.

Webb himself is a decorated combat Marine who served in the Vietnam War. He is a one-time Republican who served as Navy Secretary under President Reagan.

Webb's close race for the Virginia Senate seat against incumbent⁷ Republican Senator George Allen last November was the last of the Senate contests to be decided⁸, and his victory handed Democrats⁹ control of the chamber¹⁰.

The senator called the war's costs to the United States staggering - financially, and in terms of the damage done to the U.S. reputation around the world, lost opportunities to defeat the forces of terrorism, and U.S. casualties. He blamed the president for ignoring advice from national security officials.

"The President took us into this war recklessly," he said. "He disregarded warnings from the national security adviser¹¹ during the first Gulf¹² War, the chief of staff of the army, two former commanding generals of the Central Command, whose jurisdiction¹³ includes Iraq, the director of operations on the Joint¹⁴ Chiefs of Staff, and many, many others with great integrity and long experience in national security affairs. We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable - and predicted - disarray¹⁵ that has followed."

As the senator delivered the Democrats' response, the second highest-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, Congressman¹⁶ Roy Blunt, issued a statement appealing for support for Mr. Bush and U.S. troops as they work for success in Iraq.

But Republicans are divided on Iraq. Some key members of the party - including the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator John Warner of Virginia - oppose President Bush's decision to send 21,000 additional troops to Iraq.

Senator Warner is a co-sponsor of one of two bipartisan resolutions expressing disapproval¹⁷ of the troop increase - reflecting public opinion polls that show a majority of Americans also opposing such an increase. The other resolution - co-sponsored by the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Senator Joe Biden of Delaware - will come up for debate and possible vote before the panel Wednesday.

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

3 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。

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 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。

7 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

8 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。

9 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》

10 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

11 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

12 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。

13 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

14 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。

15 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

16 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

17 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。