时间:2019-01-07 作者:英语课 分类:2007年VOA标准英语(五月)


英语课
By Al Pessin
Washington
24 May 2007





General David Petraeus


General David Petraeus



President Bush and Defense 1 Secretary Robert Gates say a report from their top general in Iraq, due in September, will be a key element in deciding the future of the U.S. commitment in that country. But some analysts 3 say September is too early to make a realistic assessment 4 of the new strategy the president launched in January. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.


The last of the additional U.S. troops President Bush ordered to Iraq won't even be there until the middle of next month, but already reporters are asking what will happen after the new Iraq commander, General David Petraeus, makes his first progress report in September.


At a news conference Thursday, Secretary Gates would not speculate on what decisions might be made at that time, but he counseled patience. "We can't turn it around overnight. And we just have to have the patience to let this play out and see if General Petraeus' strategy is going to produce positive results," he said.


But for some experts, patience until September isn't nearly enough. "I don't think we'll realistically have the necessary trend lines developing until spring of next year," said retired 5 U.S. Army Colonel Paul Hughes, who is now an analyst 2 at the U.S. Institute for Peace in Washington. "I think we need to really suppress our desire to have good news early because good news early in a war usually is based on false hope. Once the troops are on the ground, it's going to take probably eight to 12 months before they really begin to see the results where they can say, 'OK, we've got a trend line here that we can trust,'" he said.


But it may be difficult for some Bush administration officials and members of congress to wait that long. The president himself indicated he is focused on the September report during his own news conference on Thursday. "David Petraeus felt like it was important to tell the White House and tell the congress that he would come back with an assessment in September. It's his decision to give the assessment. And I respect him and I support him," he said.


The president also said the general's assessment is more important than anything members of congress might say. And Secretary Gates said the Petraeus report will be combined with the views of other senior generals and civilian 6 officials to create an "overall evaluation 7" for the president to use in September as he decides whether to continue with the new strategy or make further changes.


For international security analyst Michael O'Hanlon at the Brookings Institution, the general's report will have to show progress in order to justify 8 continuing the current level of U.S. military commitment in Iraq.


"All the trend lines should be in the right direction, or at least the overwhelming majority of them. The violence should be down substantially. There should be progress toward political reconciliation 9 in Iraq. The economy, presumably, may be starting to show more life than it is now. You should be able to see that this thing is working, even if there is still a lot more work to do," he said.


O'Hanlon says it might not be possible to make that kind of progress in Iraq, especially by September, regardless of what strategy is used. But he says a lack of substantial progress by September will likely result in strong action by the Congress. "If the surge fails to make major progress by September, I think the congress could force an outright 10 end to the war by 2008, whereas if the surge is working we could be modestly below the 160,000 troop number by 2008, but we would expect to stay well over 100-thousand throughout the remainder of Mr. Bush's presidency 11. So it's a fairly stark 12 contrast. Either way you might see a reduction, but one reduction could be gradual and modest, the other reduction could be almost complete," he said.


And O'Hanlon says if there is not significant progress by September, the congress will be in a stronger position to insist on curtailing 13 U.S. involvement in Iraq than it was this week, when it was forced to compromise with the president on war funding.


Retired Colonel Paul Hughes says forcing a quick withdrawal 14 of most U.S. troops would be a mistake. "I don't think you'll see a substantial withdrawal of American forces for probably two or three years. This is a very rough region over there. It's a very tough world. And Americans can't sit within their borders and think that, 'Gee 15, we'd like to have our troops home right away because they're our troops.' Well, we're the superpower in the world and we have obligations that we have to fulfill," he said.


That argument fits with President Bush's view that a premature 16 U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would have dangerous consequences for the Middle East and for the United States and its allies. But it may be difficult to get much support for that view in the congress, or in U.S. public opinion polls, if General Petraeus does not report strong progress in the relatively 17 short time between now and September.




n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
  • 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。
n.分析家,化验员;心理分析学家
  • 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。
分析家,化验员( analyst的名词复数 )
  • 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。
n.评价;评估;对财产的估价,被估定的金额
  • 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?
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
n.估价,评价;赋值
  • I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
  • The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。
vt.证明…正当(或有理),为…辩护
  • He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
  • Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗?
n.和解,和谐,一致
  • He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
  • Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。
adv.坦率地;彻底地;立即;adj.无疑的;彻底的
  • If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事,你应该直率地对我说。
  • You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
adj.荒凉的;严酷的;完全的;adv.完全地
  • The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
  • He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。
v.截断,缩短( curtail的现在分词 )
  • They will be curtailing the discussions at two thirty. 他们将把讨论缩短至两点半。 来自互联网
  • Individually, banks are acting rationally by retaining their capital and curtailing lending. 此外,银行们正在合理地保留其资本和减少贷款。 来自互联网
n.取回,提款;撤退,撤军;收回,撤销
  • 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。
n.马;int.向右!前进!,惊讶时所发声音;v.向右转
  • Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
  • Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇!我们会赚好多钱啦!
adj.比预期时间早的;不成熟的,仓促的
  • It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
  • The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。
adv.比较...地,相对地
  • The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
  • The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。
学英语单词
acrolin
afflicted child
ambassadrix
anticensus
APC
autistic disorder (autism)
beyond recovery
buffered mode
cam and lever
cash surrender value of life insurance
check routine test
chronic radiation dose
chx
closet case
co-constituent
commutator-group isomorphism
comprehensive ultrasonic examination record
cost level
countersunk riveting
demavend (damavand)
diacetylurea
discount at
education u.s. copyright act
enamorments
end edge
Energy Department
environmental emergency response
equivalent-circuit parameter
euvernyl
family balanidaes
foundry production line
fraudulent conduct
fulminating
Goubéré
Guillemin line
gym-shoes
harbo(u)r facilities
heart conduction system
illegal function code
indents
industrial relations manager
initial magnetization characteristic
inkiest
insect bait
KAMAXIN
kingdoms of swaziland
latent infection
leave ... with
LeukotrieneA4
line mutual-inductance
Lysimachia auriculata
make as if to do
manual quickopening manhole
mechanics of the foreign exchange market
metri gratia
misproduction
Montanska Oblast
oil-immersed tubes
omnibearing distance facility
operation flow chart
paregorism
pollex (pl.pollices)
popularisms
port control block design
presumptive region
programmable calculating oscilloscope
radiant heat test
real compact
residual atomic charge
roomiest
rubber proofing
run time administration routine
Saletin
self-dual configuration
sensitivity to light
sloping louver of the hood
small scale yielding
Sodom and Gomorrah
specific gravity selection
spindoctors
straw discharging chain
stretch it a bit
suborder mugiloideas
sustainable agriculture and rural development
symmetrical state
tape limit
top dead point
tricholoma saponaceum
trunk loop
Umm al Tuz
unbased
unintuitively
uniplanar flow
Usk
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
vigilance committees
voucher payable account
Whiggism
Whiteman Ra.
wireline well logging
writs of execution
zultanite