VOA标准英语2009年-US Lawmaker Urges Creation of Bipartisan P

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
17 September 2009

Pointing to what he calls eroding¹ public support for the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan, a key Republican lawmaker is urging President Barack Obama to again lay out clearly for Americans what he believes is at stake there. U.S. lawmakers received a classified briefing on Wednesday from the Obama administration about Afghanistan.

 
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va)
Congressman² Frank Wolf was the author of legislation that created the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan panel that issued a report in 2006 assessing U.S. strategy in Iraq.

In a letter to President Obama, he outlines his concern that national confidence in the Afghanistan war effort is fading, although events in Afghanistan show the al-Qaida and Taliban threat has increased.

While he recognizes that President Obama has said repeatedly that failure in Afghanistan would risk U.S. national security, Wolf says the president needs to do more.

"Political and popular will is eroding, which places our commanders and troops on the ground in a perilous³ position," Wolf said. "Polling indicates, including today's Washington Post, a shift in support by the American people and in recent days key leaders in Congress have publicly raised doubts about the way forward in Afghanistan."

This week, Senator Carl Levin, the Democrat⁴ who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed concern about any decision to send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Levin said the United States and NATO need to do more to increase the numbers and training of Afghan military and police forces.

President Obama said on Wednesday there is no "immediate⁵ decision pending⁶" on whether to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, adding he is determined⁷ to get the strategy there right, before making "determinations about resources."

General Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, is expected to request adding to the 65,000 U.S. troops there now.

Joint⁸ Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen told Congress this week he expects more troops will be required.

"It is very clear to me [that] we will need more resources," the admiral said.

Representative Wolf is calling for the creation of a bipartisan panel composed of nationally-respected figures who would support the strategy being developed by U.S. military commanders, and assess progress and resources needed.

Wolf says such a panel could "reinvigorate" national confidence in the war effort. But he goes further to urge President Obama to speak again to the American people about the stakes in Afghanistan.

"To address the nation and clearly outline several things: Why we are in Afghanistan, what is at stake and what is our plan. The American people have to know all three," he said.

Members of Congress received a classified briefing from Obama administration officials on Wednesday about the situation in Afghanistan.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, a Demoract from Missouri described the sessions as an update on the situation in Afghanistan, adding it covered General McChrystal's assessment⁹ of what resources will be needed to implement¹⁰ President Obama's strategy.

Congressional Quarterly, a news organization covering the U.S. Congress, quoted an unclassified summary it obtained as listing U.S. objectives in Afghanistan and Pakistan, measures of progress toward achieving them, and stating a U.S. goal of disrupting, dismantling¹¹ and defeating al-Qaida in both countries and preventing their return in the future.

1 eroding   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的现在分词 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The coast is slowly eroding. 海岸正慢慢地被侵蚀。
• Another new development is eroding the age-old stereotype of the male warrior. 另一个新现象是，久已形成的男人皆武士的形象正逐渐消失。

2 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。

3 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

4 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。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 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？

10 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

11 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。