2007年VOA标准英语-Debate Heats up With Approach of Iraq War's 4th

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
18 March 2007

As the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war approaches, debate over the war's future is heating up among politicians in Washington. The sides of the argument mostly fall along partisan² lines, with Democrats³, who control both houses of Congress, sharply criticizing the Bush administration's policies. VOA's Stephanie Ho has more on the story.

 
John Kerry (Feb, 2007 photo)
Critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policy include Democratic Senator John Kerry, who was his party's presidential candidate in 2004. He blasted the White House for sending more U.S. troops to Iraq, and said he believes there is no military solution to the ongoing⁴ violence in the country.

"I get really angry," said John Kerry. "I heard about those four soldiers killed today and I say to myself, as someone who remembers going out on patrols that sort of had a huge question mark over them, what are we doing? What are these kids doing, going out there and finding an IED [improvised explosive device] the hard way?"

The four U.S. troops were killed Sunday by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

In an effort to quell⁵ the violence, the White House in January said it is sending 21,500 additional U.S. troops to Iraq. More recently, the Bush administration announced it is sending 4,700 more troops to Iraq, mostly to serve in a support capacity.

 
Stephen Hadley (file photo)
The Bush administration's policy was praised by White House National Security Adviser⁶ Stephen Hadley. Speaking on the ABC television program This Week, he acknowledged that some Iraqis want the U.S. military presence to be, in his words, "over."

"But the point is we need to get it in a position where the Iraqis can take responsibility for security successfully," said Stephen Hadley. "Because if we do not and we do a premature⁷ withdrawal⁸, then what we have is a situation where, if the Iraqi forces cannot handle the situation, which is the case now, we have Iraq as a safe haven⁹ for terrorists, who will destabilize the neighbors and attack us."

U.S. Defense¹⁰ Secretary Robert Gates appeared on the CBS television program Face the Nation to urge critics to wait and see whether the White House's latest troop surge plan is effective.

 
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, 07 Mar¹ 2007 
"General Petraeus, the commander out there, has said it will probably be summer before we know whether we are being successful or not," said Robert Gates. "But I would say that the Iraqis are meeting the commitments they have made to us."

Democratic congressman¹¹ and prominent critic of the Iraq war, John Murtha, indicated his distrust of the Bush administration's management, in an appearance on CNN's Late Edition.

"Every time they say there is progress, it turns out there is no progress and then they have to backtrack," said Congressman Murtha. "For instance, they say everything is getting better, yet oil production, electricity production are all below pre-war levels. Incidents have increased outside Baghdad."

He said he believes something dramatic needs to be done in order for the situation to get better. He is among supporters of legislation in the House of Representatives that includes a deadline of September 2008 for U.S. troops to be withdrawn¹² from Iraq.

Meanwhile, thousands of people demonstrated in Washington Saturday to show their opposition¹³ to the Iraq War. There were others demonstrating in support.

Protests are expected to continue in the United States and elsewhere in the world before Tuesday's four-year anniversary of the start of the war.

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

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 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

6 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。

7 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

8 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。

9 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

10 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。

11 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。

12 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

13 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。