VOA标准英语2008年-Bush Sending More Troops to Afghanistan

U.S. President George Bush is sending more U.S. forces to Afghanistan while withdrawing about 8,000 troops from Iraq. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports those wars and U.S. troop levels are part of this year's presidential campaign.
　
President George Bush announces he will send more troops to Afghanistan during remarks at the National Defense¹ University, 9 Sept. 2008

President Bush says some 8,000 troops will leave Iraq by next February, including a Marine² battalion³ from Anbar province, an Army combat brigade and more than 3,000 aviation personnel, construction engineers and military police.

"While the enemy in Iraq is still dangerous, we have seized the offensive, and Iraqi forces are becoming increasingly capable of leading and winning the fight," he said. "As a result, we have been able to carry out a policy of "return on success" - reducing American combat forces in Iraq as conditions on the ground continue to improve."

Speaking to military commanders at the National Defense University in Washington, Mr. Bush said Tuesday that there now appears to be a degree of durability⁴ to security gains in Iraq that the president ascribes to his decision to send reinforcements last year.
　
John McCain (file)

With the withdrawal⁵ of 8,000 troops by early next year, there will be slightly more American forces in Iraq than before the surge.

Republican presidential nominee⁶ Senator John McCain supported the surge. His Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama, did not.

In a written statement, McCain said Obama is "utterly⁷ confused" by the progress in the war in Iraq. McCain called Obama's vow⁸ to withdraw all U.S. troops within 16 months "profoundly irresponsible".

Speaking to reporters in Ohio, Obama said withdrawing troops will force Iraq's political leaders to take more responsibility for their own security.
　
Sen. Barack Obama during a news conference in Dayton, Ohio, 9 Sept. 2008

"In the absence of a timetable to remove our combat brigades, we will continue to give Iraq's leaders a blank check instead of pressing them to reconcile their differences," he said. "So the president's talk of return on success is a new name for continuing the same strategic mistakes that have dominated our foreign policy for over five years."

In addition to the withdrawals⁹ from Iraq, President Bush is sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan where he says Taliban attacks are shaking the confidence of the Afghan people.

"Afghanistan's success is critical to the security of America and our partners in the free world," the president said. "And for all the good work we have done in that country, it is clear we must do even more. As we learned in Iraq, the best way to restore the confidence of the people is to restore basic security - and that requires more troops."

In November, a Marine battalion that was scheduled to go to Iraq will instead deploy¹⁰ to Afghanistan. They will be followed in January by an Army combat brigade.

McCain and Obama both support more troops for Afghanistan, but the Democratic nominee says the president's action is insufficient¹¹ because the most substantial increase will not come for another five months.

"His plan comes up short," Obama said. "It is not enough troops not enough resources with not enough urgency."

President Bush says the United States must help Pakistan defeat Taliban and al-Qaida fighters who are using remote border regions to destabilize both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

1 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。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

4 durability   

n.经久性，耐用性

参考例句：

• Nylons have the virtue of durability.尼龙丝袜有耐穿的优点。

5 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。

6 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

7 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

8 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

9 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

10 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

11 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。