VOA标准英语2008年-Five Years After ‘Mission Accomplished’ in Iraq

By Leta Hong Fincher
Washington
01 May 2008
 

Thursday marks the fifth anniversary of the day U.S. President George Bush stood on an aircraft carrier and declared major combat operations in Iraq were over.  Now, some political analysts¹ say the United States is likely to maintain a military presence in Iraq that will last years into the next U.S. presidential administration. Leta Hong Fincher has more.

On 1 May 2003, President George Bush strode onto the deck of the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln. Overhead was a banner saying "Mission Accomplished²."

President Bush said, "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.  In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."

Five years later, some 140,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq. More than 4,000 members of the U.S. military have died in the conflict. The number of Iraqi civilians³ killed in sectarian and other violence is sometimes estimated in the hundreds of thousands.

Anthony Cordesman is a military expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He says the United States was not prepared for a long-term counterinsurgency, and it will need to maintain a military presence in Iraq for years to come.  "[The war] is winnable," says Cordesman. "It does require patience. I think no one can go to Iraq or Afghanistan without becoming aware that the country teams are talking about a U.S. intervention⁴ which will almost certainly last through the life of the next administration."

Cordesman says even after the United States withdraws most of its troops from Iraq, U.S. air support, artillery⁵ and ground forces will at times be needed to help the Iraqi military.

With the war dragging on and casualties still mounting, public opinion polls show that a majority of Americans now oppose the war and favor bringing U.S. troops home.

The war has become one of the top issues in the U.S. presidential campaign.

Republican Senator John McCain supports staying the course in Iraq. He told a recent congressional hearing that his goal is for Iraq to no longer need U.S. troops. "But I also believe that the promise of withdrawal⁶ of our forces regardless of the consequences would constitute a failure of political and moral leadership," he added.

Democratic Senator Barack Obama pledges to have all U.S. combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months if elected president. "When John McCain says that the war in Iraq has been a success, when he talks about continuing a war with no exit strategy, a war that has not made us safer, when he talks about maybe keeping troops there for a hundred years, I think the American people understand we can't afford that," said Obama.

Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton says that as president, she would begin to withdraw U.S. troops within 60 days. "We have to restore American leadership and our moral authority, and we will do that by ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home as responsibly and quickly as we can," said Clinton.

Political analysts say the growing anti-war sentiment  favors the Democratic Party in the general election.

John Fortier is an expert on U.S. elections at the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington.  "People are still - now in higher numbers than ever, in the 60 percent range - saying that the war was not a good idea in the first place, they worry that there is no good outcome to the war," said Fortier. "If you ask a generic⁸ question, 'who is better at handling the war, a Republican or a Democrat⁷?' Democrats⁹ win that battle.” 

Nonetheless, Fortier says many voters believe McCain has better leadership skills than his Democratic rivals. He adds that U.S. public opinion on the war could easily shift, depending on the level of violence in Iraq.

Analysts say conditions on the ground in Iraq could also limit the decisions a future president makes.

1 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。

2 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

5 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

6 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。

7 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。

8 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

9 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》