2007年VOA标准英语-Key US Senators Agree on Bipartisan Resolution

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
01 February 2007

U.S. Senate Democratic and Republican leaders have reached a deal on a nonbinding resolution expressing disagreement with President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq.  VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

 
Sen. John Warner, right, asks a question during committee hearing on nomination² of Gen. George W. Casey to become Army Chief of Staff on Capitol Hill, Feb. 1, 2007 
The compromise resolution expresses disagreement with President Bush's plan to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq.  It does not include language that had been in a competing resolution calling the troop increase not in the national interest.

The compromise language - reached by the top Republican and Democrat¹ on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator John Warner of Virginia and Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, respectively - is aimed at attracting more Republican support in the Senate, where Democrats³ have a thin majority.

At a confirmation⁴ hearing to consider the nomination of General George Casey to be Army chief of staff, Warner underscored his opposition⁵ to the troop surge plan as he questioned the nominee⁶:

 
General George Casey in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, 1 Feb 2007
WARNER:  "Why are we not putting more emphasis on the utilization⁷ or Iraqi forces and less on the U.S. GI being put into that cauldron of terror?"

CASEY:  "I would say, senator that we are relying more on Iraqis, forcing the Iraqis to take a more leading role in resolving the situation in Baghdad.  They came up with the plan.  They will lead the plan."

The Warner-Levin resolution, which does not have the force of law, received support from Senator Joe Biden, the Delaware Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Biden said called the measure an important first step aimed at pressing President Bush to abandon his troop increase plan.

 
Senator Joe Biden
"If the president does not listen to the majority of congress, and I expect a majority of congress to vote for our resolution, if he does not respond to a majority in congress and the majority of the American people, we will have to look to other ways to change his policies," he said.

But the resolution faces opposition on both sides of the political aisle⁸.

Senator Jim Bunning, a Kentucky Republican, believes the measure goes too far.

"We must work together collectively on advancing our national interest instead of splintering off and playing into the hands of our enemies," he said.  "Some of the proposed resolutions on Iraq send a terrible message to both our troops and our allies, and only hurt our national interest.  Even more importantly, I believe they send a dangerous message to our enemies."

Senator Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, argues that the resolution does not go far enough, because it does not call for the start of a U.S. troop withdrawal⁹ from Iraq nor does it allow for congress to withhold¹⁰ funds for military mission.

"The legislation that my good friends John Warner and Carl Levin and others have reached a compromise on last evening is with all due respect essentially¹¹ an endorsement¹² of the status quo," he explained.  "For that reason, I cannot support it."

At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, former national security adviser¹³ Brent Scowcroft cautioned that the resolution would send the wrong message that the United States is not united on the war.

"The Congress' role is unlikely to be helpful in the direction it is going, in the sense that what you send is signals abroad that if they just push a little harder, then the president may have to change his mind," he said.

But former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski said the resolution would make clear that the president is out of step with Congress and the American people, whom public opinion polls show also oppose the troop surge.

He warned of dire¹⁴ consequences for the United States if it continues on its course in Iraq.

"If the United States continues to be bogged¹⁵ down in a protracted¹⁶, bloody¹⁷ involvement in Iraq, and I emphasize what I am about to say, the final destination on this downhill track is likely to be a head-on conflict with Iran, and with much of the world of Islam at large," he said.  "A plausible¹⁸ scenario¹⁹ for a military collision with Iran involves Iraqi failure to meet the benchmarks, followed by accusations²⁰ of Iranian responsibility for the failure, then by some provocation²¹ in Iraq or terrorist act in the United States blamed on Iran, culminating in a 'defensive²² military action' against Iran that plunges²³ a lonely America into a spreading a deepening quagmire²⁴, eventually ranging across Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan."

At the White House, spokesman Tony Snow urged Congress to give the president's troop increase plan a chance to work.

"We've got a way forward that acknowledges all the faults and defects of previous plans that you have noted²⁵ and others have noted," he said.  "This is not an attempt to ignore problems. It is a commitment to address them. As Congress thinks about this, we would also expect members to take a very careful look at how this program proceeds, not expecting overnight results because nothing can yield overnight results."

The Senate is expected to formally debate the Iraq resolution next week.

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 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 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》

4 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

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 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

7 utilization   

n.利用，效用

参考例句：

• Computer has found an increasingly wide utilization in all fields.电子计算机已越来越广泛地在各个领域得到应用。
• Modern forms of agricultural utilization,have completely refuted this assumption.现代农业利用形式，完全驳倒了这种想象。

8 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

9 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。

10 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

12 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

13 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。

14 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

15 bogged   

adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

18 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

19 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

20 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

21 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

22 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

23 plunges   

n.跳进，投入vt.使投入，使插入，使陷入vi.投入，跳进，陷入v.颠簸( plunge的第三人称单数 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• Even before he plunges into his program, he has his audience in his pocket. 他的节目甚至还没有出场，就已控制住了观众。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 'Monseigneur, he precipitated himself over the hill-side, head first, as a person plunges into the river.' “大人，他头冲下跳下山坡去了，像往河里跳一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

24 quagmire   

n.沼地

参考例句：

• On their way was a quagmire which was difficult to get over.路上他俩遇到了—个泥坑,很难过得去。
• Rain had turned the grass into a quagmire.大雨使草地变得一片泥泞。

25 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。