2006年VOA标准英语-White House Says Baghdad Security Is Priority i

By Scott Stearns
Washington
25 July 2006

President Bush and Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki, left, walk from their meeting in the Oval Office for a joint¹ press conference, July 25, 2006   
  
President Bush is moving more U.S. troops to the Iraqi capital to help improve security there. Mr. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki discussed security in Baghdad during their first White House meeting.

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The president says the U.S. strategy in Iraq is to remain on the offensive, including in Baghdad. Calling the violence there still terrible, Mr. Bush says more U.S. troops will be redeployed to Baghdad in the coming weeks in a new effort to bring greater security to the capital. "Coalition² and Iraqi forces will secure individual neighborhoods, will ensure the existence of an Iraqi security presence in the neighborhoods and gradually expand the security presence as Iraqi citizens help them root out those who instigate³ violence. This plan will involve embedding⁴ more U.S. Military Police with Iraqi police units to make them more effective," he said.

President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki took questions from reporters following their Oval Office meeting. Speaking through an interpreter, the prime minister said one of the main objectives of the new security strategy is to curb⁵ sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni Muslims. "The government's responsibility is to protect all Iraqis regardless of their ethnic⁶ or religious background. It is important to say we are shedding light on those who are calling for sectarian or religious (violence) because we feel that this is a great danger to Iraq. And, God willing, there will be no civil war in Iraq," he said.

In London Monday, Mr. Maliki confirmed a U.N. report that on average during the past two months nearly 100 Iraqi civilians⁷ were killed each day.

The prime minister says he and the president agreed that building security and military institutions in Iraq as quickly as possible is the key to stabilizing⁸ the country and defeating terrorism.

Toward that end, President Bush said the United States will equip Iraqi forces with more firepower, improved transport and better protection. "No question the terrorists and extremists are brutal⁹. These are people who just kill innocent people to achieve an objective, which is to destabilize this government," he said.

Mr. Bush says U.S. military commanders tell him the redeployment of troops to Baghdad will better reflect current conditions in Iraq.

In the midst of all the violence in Baghdad, President Bush says, sometimes success elsewhere is obscured. He pointed¹⁰ to the recent transfer of a southern province to full Iraqi control as a sign of progress.

The president says the question now is whether U.S. forces are going to be nimble enough to deal with changing circumstances.

1 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。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 instigate   

v.教唆，怂恿，煽动

参考例句：

• His object was to instigate a little rebellion on the part of the bishop.他的目的是，在主教方面煽起一场小小的造反。
• It would not prove worthwhile to instigate a nuclear attack.挑起核攻击最终是不值得的。

4 embedding   

把…嵌入，埋入( embed的现在分词 )； 植入； 埋置； 包埋

参考例句：

• Data embedding in scrambled Digital video complete source code, has been tested. 数据嵌入在炒数字视频完整的源代码，已经过测试。
• Embedding large portions of C++ code in string literals is very awkward. 将大部分C++代码嵌入到字符串中是非常笨拙的。

5 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 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。

8 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

9 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。