2007年VOA标准英语-US General Disputes Newspaper Reports He Would

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
07 September 2007

A senior U.S. military officer is disputing reports in two major U.S. newspapers, which said Friday that the U.S. commander in Iraq may be willing to send several thousands of his troops home by January. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

General David Petraeus, left with President Bush during surprise visit to Anbar province in Iraq, 03 Sep 2007

The officer, who spoke¹ on condition of anonymity², says the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, told him the stories in The New York Times and The Washington Post are "not accurate." The officer, who works closely with General Petraeus, says the general told him newspapers should not trust the unnamed officials quoted in those reports in the future, because their information is "off base."

General Petraeus and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, are to give their highly-anticipated progress reports to the Congress on Monday, including recommendations on future U.S. troop levels. President Bush is expected to announce his decisions based on those reports, perhaps later in the week.

Amid the stir over Friday's newspaper stories, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman offered reporters this advice:

"We should all not try to predict what the general is going to say," he said. "We ought to wait for next week, when he's going to give a very full assessment³ of where we're at right now, at this point in time, with respect to our operations in Iraq."

A senior defense⁴ official also noted⁵ that the articles say General Petraeus "could accept" or is willing "to consider" the start of a drawdown of U.S. forces early next year. The official said it is not up to the general to "accept" or "consider." Rather, the official said, the general will make his recommendations to President Bush, and the president will decide the future course of U.S. policy toward Iraq, including troop levels.

During a brief visit to Iraq on Monday, President Bush said General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker told him if current trends continue it will be possible to reduce the U.S. troop level in Iraq, but he did not say when that might happen.

The Petraeus and Crocker reports are just two of several assessments⁶ being made public this week and next week. On Thursday, a commission chaired by retired⁷ General James Jones reported to the Congress Iraqi security forces still need 12-18 more months to prepare to handle security for the country.

Still, General Jones told Congress his group of retired military and police officers favors a change in the mission of U.S. forces in Iraq as soon as possible, away from daily combat to a support role.

"The force footprint should be adjusted, in our view, to represent an expeditionary capability⁸, and to combat the permanent force image of today's presence," he said.

Pressed by a senator, General Jones said that change could include consolidations, realignments and reductions.

Also this week, the Congress' Government Accountability Office issued a highly critical report, questioning military claims of reduced violence in Iraq following the surge of U.S. forces earlier this year.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

3 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

4 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。

5 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。

6 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

7 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。

8 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。