VOA常速英语2007年-Former US Commander Criticizes Bush on Iraq

By Scott Stearns
White House
24 November 2007

The former U.S. commander of multi-national troops in Iraq says President Bush's strategy there is failing because it relies too much on military force and not enough on political reconciliation¹. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, President Bush says Iraqi leaders are making political progress.

As commander of multi-national forces in Iraq shortly after the fall of Baghdad, retired² Army Lieutenant³ General Ricardo Sanchez says he saw first hand the consequences of what he calls the Bush administration's failure to properly coordinate⁴ American political, economic, diplomatic, and military power.

"That failure continues today," he said. "At its base is the mistaken belief, despite years of evidence to the contrary, that victory can be achieved through the application of military power alone."

Sanchez says he gave the Democratic Party's Saturday radio address not as a representative of the opposition⁵ party but as a retired military officer.

This is not the first time Sanchez has spoken out against the president's policies in Iraq. Asked about his previous criticism, White House officials said simply that they appreciate Sanchez's service.

The former commander is backing congressional Democrats⁶ who want $50 billion in additional war funding linked to the goal of withdrawing U.S. combat troops by the end of next year.

That legislation was blocked by Senate Republicans who want $70 billion for the war without conditions. Democrats voted down that measure, and no additional funds were approved before Congress left for its Thanksgiving break.

President Bush opposes a timetable for troop withdrawal⁷ because he says those decisions should be made by military commanders in the field, not politicians in Washington. He says some troops are coming home, and more will follow next year, because of improved security that the president says is partly the result of his decision to send reinforcements to Iraq earlier this year.

Those troops were meant to give Iraqi leaders time to reach compromises on sharing oil revenue and allowing members of Saddam Hussein's former political party to join the government. The measures have not passed parliament.

In an interview with ABC News earlier this week, President Bush was asked about the pace of reconciliation and comments by an American army captain who said coalition⁸ troops cannot themselves reconcile Iraqi politicians.

"Sunni sheiks are stepping up and beginning to take the lead at the local level," he said. "The captain's remarks are true in this sense: the Iraqis are going to have to obviously take the lead politically, which they are beginning to do."

Sanchez disagrees with the president.

"The keys to securing the future of Iraq are aggressive regional diplomacy⁹, political reconciliation, and economic hope," said Sanchez. "Yet, as our current commanders in Iraq have recently noted¹⁰, the improvements in security produced by the courage and blood of our troops have not been matched by a willingness on the part of Iraqi leaders to make the hard choices necessary to bring peace to their country."

Sanchez says there is no evidence that Iraqi leaders will make those hard choices in the near future.

In the president's weekly radio address, Mr. Bush again marked this past Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday, saying Americans are grateful for U.S. servicemen and women whose sacrifices protect and strengthen the nation.

1 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

2 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

3 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

4 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

5 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。

6 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》

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。