VOA常速英语2008年-US Lawmakers Demand Assurances on Future Iraq A

By Dan Robinson
Washington
05 March 2008

U.S. lawmakers have again pressed Bush administration officials for details of negotiations¹ that will lay the groundwork for future U.S. commitments to Iraq. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, where the fifth in a series of hearings was held on implications of a declaration of principles signed last year by the United States and Iraq, and upcoming formal negotiations on two accords.

President Bush and administration officials have repeatedly made clear that they envision a long-term commitment to and relationship with Iraq. However, the administration has declined to provide members of Congress with specific texts of what is being negotiated.

Lawmakers worry that in negotiating a strategic framework accord and a separate Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the administration wants to set the legal groundwork for a long-term commitment in which U.S. soldiers would be required to fight to defend Iraq from internal or external threats.

Democratic Congressman³ Gary Ackerman, who chairs the House Middle East subcommittee, believes the administration is downplaying the scope of what is involved and is trying to avert⁴ a battle with Congress.

"Describing the proposed agreement as merely routine is, I believe, disingenuous⁵ at best," he said. "There is nothing routine about it, or the situation in Iraq, and trying to dampen concerns in Congress by suggesting that the declaration doesn't mean everything that it says suggests that the administration either doesn't understand English or has deliberately⁶ mis-led the Iraqis. Neither interpretation⁷ is flattering."

The administration's position was re-emphasized by Ambassador David Satterfield, senior advisor⁸ on Iraq to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

Saying it is clear U.S. forces will need to operate effectively in Iraq beyond the end of 2008, he calls it imperative⁹ that a final accord provides, in his words, all the legal authorities and protections necessary for continued operations after a U.N. mandate¹⁰ expires later this year.

"The framework and the status of forces agreement will not tie the hands of the next president or indeed this president. They will ensure that every policy option remains¹¹ on the table," said Satterfield. "The size of the U.S. presence in Iraq, the missions to be performed by such forces if forces are present, are decisions for the president and for the next president to make."

Neither agreement, Satterfield underscored, will contain a binding¹² commitment to defend Iraq or any other security commitments that would require the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, nor authorize¹³ the establishment of permanent U.S. bases.

Democratic lawmakers are not persuaded. Democrat² William Delahunt says based on what is known so far, Congress clearly needs to exercise its constitutional responsibility.

"Such an accord necessarily implicates¹⁴ the authority to fight, and as others have said, the decision to use force overseas except for limited defensive¹⁵ purposes requires a collective judgment¹⁶ of the political branches of the government," he said.

Republican Dana Rohrabacher, generally a supporter of the president's Iraq policies, faults the administration for not being more cooperative, saying the president owes Americans a transparent¹⁷ process.

"George Bush was elected president. He was not elected king," he said. "There is too much a stake in this game for one-upsmanship or turf battles dealing¹⁸ with congress and the executive branch."

During a particularly contentious¹⁹ exchange Ambassador Satterfield resisted attempts by Congressman Ackerman to have him state what the U.S. would do in the event Iraq were attacked, and detail administration discussions about constitutional responsibilities to consult with Congress.

SATTERFIELD: The president's responsibility is to assess the circumstances on the ground in Iraq and determine on the basis of that assessment²⁰.

ACKERMAN: Does he share that responsibility with anybody?

SATTERFIELD: He shares that responsibility with his commanders on the ground and with their chain of command.

ACKERMAN: And not with the American people and their representativies?

SATTERFIELD: Certainly Mr. Chairman, the president ultimately answers to the American people and the U.S. Congress.

ACKERMAN: I would suggest [that] 'ultimately' is coming very close [soon]."

In refusing to comment on what he called hypotheticals, including what would happen if Iraq were attacked, Satterfield pledged to provide detailed²¹ answers to Ackerman's constitutional questions within 24 hours.

In separate testimony²², Yale Law School professor Oona Hathaway asserted that based on the details known so far of the status of forces agreement, Congress must be involved in the process.

"The kind of status of forces agreement that is proposed by the administration based on the remarks here today far exceeds the typical status of forces agreement," said Hathaway.

Foreign affairs and defense²³ expert Lawrence Korb says that if Iraqis expect the U.S. to protect them against future threats, as he asserts is clear, then Americans through their representatives, should have a voice in any agreement that is negotiated:

"If in fact that is what they want, the American people and you their representatives should have a say in exactly what they [the Bush administration and Iraqi government] do," he said.

Ambassador Satterfield told lawmakers that U.S. and Iraqi teams are preparing for negotiations and clarifying positions on key issues, adding that the lead negotiator, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, would be testifying to Congress in coming months.

The U.S. and Iraqi sides, he adds, will begin with framework statements to ensure that all involved are working on what he describes as a similar fact-based assessment of the situation before substantive²⁴ issues are discussed.

1 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

2 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。

3 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。

4 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

5 disingenuous   

adj.不诚恳的，虚伪的

参考例句：

• It is disingenuous of him to flatter me.他对我阿谀奉承，是居心叵测。
• His brother Shura with staring disingenuous eyes was plotting to master the world.他那长着一对狡诈眼睛的哥哥瑞拉，处心积虑图谋征服整个世界。

6 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

7 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

8 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

9 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

10 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

11 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。

12 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

13 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

14 implicates   

n.牵涉，涉及（某人）( implicate的名词复数 )；表明（或意指）…是起因

参考例句：

• This confession implicates numerous officials in the bribery scandal. 这一供认会使许多官员牵连到受贿的丑事中。 来自辞典例句
• Did you tell him that the recording implicates President Logan in Palmer's assassination? 你有没有告诉他录音显示洛根总统跟帕尔默被杀有关？ 来自电影对白

15 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。

16 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

17 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

18 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

19 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

20 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？

21 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

22 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。

23 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。

24 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。