VOA常速英语2007年-US Political Divide Remains Over Iraq War Fundi

By Michael Bowman
Washington
25 November 2007

Majority Democrats² in the U.S. Congress continue to press for time-specific goals for withdrawing American military personnel from Iraq, despite reports that a surge in U.S. forces appears to have contributed to a reduction in violence in the politically and ethnically-fractured nation. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington.

Reports from Iraq say recent months have seen dramatic reductions in fatalities³, both for civilians⁴ and U.S. troops, as terrorist and sectarian attacks appear to be waning⁵. At the same time, Iraq's fledgling democratic institutions have made only limited strides towards the political reconciliation⁶ widely viewed as a necessary first step to unify⁷ the country and lay the foundation for a lasting⁸ peace.

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin of Michigan, says U.S. military progress in Iraq is irrelevant⁹ without political progress by Iraq's leaders. Speaking on the Fox News Sunday television program, Levin, a Democrat¹, said President Bush's overall Iraq strategy remains¹⁰ a failure.

"The president's policy very specifically had as its purpose to give the Iraqi political leaders the breathing space to work out a political settlement, and that purpose has not been achieved," said Carl Levin. "They are just as far apart as ever."

Minority Republicans in Congress have successfully blocked Democratic efforts to pass a war funding bill that include target dates for withdrawing most of the 160,000 U.S. troops from Iraq.

The latest bill would have provided $50 billion in revenue for the war effort, but designated the end of next year as a goal for a troop pullout.

Also appearing on Fox News Sunday was Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who said it would be a tragic¹¹ mistake to constrain¹² U.S. military options in Iraq.

"I saw the old [U.S.] strategy fail," said Graham. "I am seeing the surge work beyond my expectation. And I think we will have political dividends¹³ at the national level in Baghdad soon. But we need to leave the military alone and not micromanage what the military is doing, because it is in our national security interests to allow this surge to continue."

But Democrats say Iraq's leaders will never take difficult steps to promote national reconciliation so long as the United States maintains an open-ended military commitment in Iraq. Levin says the aim of pushing for troop withdrawals¹⁴ is to pressure Iraqi leaders to act.

"No one is trying to undercut the military," he said. "It is our military commanders who are saying that it is the Maliki government's failure to work out the political settlement which is the greatest threat to the success of their mission."

President Bush has pledged to begin bringing home limited numbers of U.S. troops during the next year if the security situation in Iraq permits. Speaking on CNN's Late Edition program, former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said Iraq is far from being able to stand on its own.

"The Iraqi forces are not ready yet to take the full responsibility," said Allawi. "I think, especially, the police forces are definitely not ready yet [to patrol the streets on their own]. We hope that ultimately the Iraqi forces will be able, but I cannot see this happening yet. The reality is still harsh. We are still far away from reconciliation."

Democrats say they will return to the funding issue next month and continue working, if necessary, into the New Year.

1 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。

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 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 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。

7 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

8 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

9 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

12 constrain   

vt.限制，约束；克制，抑制

参考例句：

• She tried to constrain herself from a cough in class.上课时她竭力忍住不咳嗽。
• The study will examine the factors which constrain local economic growth.这项研究将考查抑制当地经济发展的因素。

13 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

14 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句