voa标准英语2008-Obama Remains Committed to Troop Withdrawal From-英语课

时间：2019-01-13 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2008年(十二月)

英语课

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has reaffirmed his intention to withdraw American combat forces from Iraq after taking office. Mr. Obama spoke 1 as a top member of the Bush administration admitted that U.S. efforts to stabilize 2 Iraq after the 2003 invasion were lacking.
　

President-elect Barack Obama listens to a reporter's question during a news conference in Chicago, 26 Nov. 2008

While campaigning for the presidency 3, Barack Obama's most often repeated pledge was to bring home American combat forces from Iraq within 16 months of entering the White House.

Since the election, the United States and Iraq have finalized 4 an accord that stipulates 5 a 2011 deadline for withdrawing U.S. troops.

Speaking on NBC television's Meet The Press program, Mr. Obama said he remains 6 committed to ending the Iraq War, although he gave no specific dates for doing so.

"One of my first acts as president will be to bring in the Joint 7 Chiefs of Staff, to bring in my national security team, and design a plan for a responsible drawdown," said Barack Obama. "When I began the campaign, there was a lot of controversy 8 about the idea of starting to draw down troops. Now, we have seen this administration sign an agreement with the Iraqi government, creating a timeframe for removing U.S. troops."

The president-elect, who opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq while serving as an Illinois state senator, said he wants to act quickly but also to preserve stability in Iraq. He said there must be a mechanism 9 for Iraq to assume more responsibility for its security without allowing a resurgence 10 of terrorism in the country.

In a recent interview, President Bush said the greatest regret of his presidency was the intelligence failure that led the United States to believe that Saddam Hussein possessed 11 weapons of mass destruction. In the past, Mr. Bush has admitted that mistakes were made in attempting to secure the country after the Iraqi ruler's ouster.
　

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks during a joint press conference with Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Copenhagen, 5 Dec. 2008

Speaking on the Fox News Sunday television program, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the structure of America's presence in Iraq was not up to the task of helping 12 to forge a democracy while maintaining security in the face of a violent insurgency 13.

Rice was asked whether former Defense 14 Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who played a key role in deciding U.S. troop levels in Iraq after the invasion, bore the blame.

"Look, I take responsibility for that, too," said Condoleezza Rice. "We just did not have the right structure."

At the same time, Rice said she believes that, in the long run, the overthrow 15 of Saddam Hussein will prove to be what she termed "a strategic achievement" for America. She said Iraq will be at the core of what she described as "a different kind of Middle East".

1 spoke

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 stabilize

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

3 presidency

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。

4 finalized

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 stipulates

n.（尤指在协议或建议中）规定，约定，讲明（条件等）( stipulate的名词复数 )；规定，明确要求v.（尤指在协议或建议中）规定，约定，讲明（条件等）( stipulate的第三人称单数 )；规定，明确要求