2007年VOA标准英语-US Commander Presents Plan for Drawdown in Iraq

By Catherine Drew
London
19 September 2007
 

One week after proposing a modest drawdown of troops, the top U.S. commander in Iraq outlined his proposal to America's closest ally.  General David Petreaus is in London a week after his highly anticipated congressional testimony¹.  He says that the addition of more than 30,000 soldiers has helped limit the violence in Iraq. Catherine Drew reports for VOA on the reaction of the British public.

General David Petreaus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker presented their plan for the war to the British government and a skeptical² public.  The agenda included a private meeting at 10 Downing Street.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said, while he will not abandon Iraq, his country's future there will be decided³ by developments on the ground.  

With British soldiers facing fierce fighting in Afghanistan, there is speculation⁴ in the British media that the prime minister might want to reduce troop numbers in Iraq.

Analyst⁵ Alex Bigham of the London-based Foreign Policy Centre says he expects the question of the size of the British force is a concern. "I don't think the British are going to pull out immediately or set a fixed⁶ timetable for withdrawal⁷ -- partly because the Americans feel they might have to back-fill with troops of their own and partly of course because it would add to the political clamor that's going on in Washington, which says, if the British are prepared to withdraw, why don't we withdraw American troops?"

Early in September, the last British troops based at Basra Palace moved to the airport -- where all 5500 soldiers in Iraq now concentrate on training the Iraqi army. 

Opinion polls in Britain show a steady decrease in support since the 2003 invasion.  The British polling company, YouGov, found fewer than one-third of respondents say Britain was right to go to war.

Some Londoners say Britain should plot a course independent of the U.S. One person remarked, "We need to make our own decisions about when our troops come home and we need to get on with the job and them out of there as soon as possible."

Another person said, "Clearly an American general will have a particular slant⁸ and we have to try to get at the truth to find out whether he's justified⁹ in taking that slant or not." A third person said, "Well, I haven't really been following the situation but I don't think we should have gone there in the first place in all honesty."

Political analysts¹⁰ say Prime Minister Brown will not risk hurting his country's relationship with the U.S over any disagreements over Iraq.

Alex Bigham, from the Foreign Policy Centre, says, "It's not a relationship that Gordon Brown wants to undermine in the round.  But clearly there are different situations on the ground in Iraq and that reflects a different strategy. But in the long term you may see the Americans moving towards the kind of strategy that Britain is pursuing after the surge."

Mr. Brown is due to outline his Iraq strategy to Parliament when the House of Commons returns from recess¹¹ next month.   

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

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 slant   

v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向

参考例句：

• The lines are drawn on a slant.这些线条被画成斜线。
• The editorial had an antiunion slant.这篇社论有一种反工会的倾向。

9 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。