2007年VOA标准英语-Study Says Iraq Not Meeting Benchmarks

By Scott Stearns
White House
14 September 2007

A long awaited report to Congress by President Bush says Iraq's government has made little progress in meeting political and military goals over the last few months.   The release of the report comes just one day after President Bush told the American public that U.S. troops had made enough progress in Iraq to begin brings thousands of them home by the end of this year.  VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports.

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President Bush queues up with troops for lunch at the Marines Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia, 14 Sep 2007

The president's report to Congress on the state of military and political progress in Iraq shows just one improvement since July, the ability of members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to hold government jobs.

On eight other benchmarks - including equitable³ law enforcement, reducing sectarian violence, and sharing oil revenue - the White House report finds Iraq's progress unsatisfactory.

It judges as satisfactory nine indicators⁴, including the protection of minority political parties and the establishment of joint⁵ security stations in Baghdad. Like the July report, this update says it is too soon to assess the two remaining benchmarks, amnesty and a militia⁶ disarmament program.

In a written statement accompanying the report, White House Spokesman Tony Snow says there have been other, equally important developments including passing a budget.

President Bush did not address the benchmarks after meeting with Marine¹ lieutenants⁷ at a military base in Virginia Friday. Instead, he is focusing on his announcement Thursday evening that he will bring nearly 6,000 troops home from Iraq by the end of the year.

President Bush speaks from Oval Office of White House, 13 Sep 2007

"Now is a chance for us to come together as a nation," said Mr. Bush.  "Some of us who believed security was paramount⁸ were on opposite sides of a debate with people who say we simply need to bring our troops home. Well, now we got security in the right direction and we are bringing our troops home."

The president's plan would leave about 130,000 Americans in Iraq by the middle of 2008.

Earlier this year, opposition⁹ Democrats¹⁰ failed to gain enough votes in the Senate to force the president to set a timetable for troop withdrawal¹¹, largely because enough members of the president's own political party felt his plan needed more time to work.

Democrats now hope to convince enough Republicans to join them in votes next week limiting the mission of U.S. troops to training Iraqi forces, protecting U.S. personnel, and hunting terrorists.

Rhode Island Senator Jack¹² Reed says the president is failing to provide either a plan to successfully end the war or a convincing rationale to continue it.

"Last evening, the president did not set out a new course for Iraq," said Mr. Reed.  "What he did was accept the reality of our limited military force structure, the number of soldiers and Marines we have on duty."

A public opinion poll by the Associated Press this week shows nearly two-thirds of Americans disapprove¹³ of the president's handling of the war.

Mr. Bush says he has asked military commanders to report back to Congress next March about what troop levels might then be needed to maintain security in Iraq.

1 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。

2 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• 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 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

4 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

5 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。

6 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

7 lieutenants   

n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员

参考例句：

• In the army, lieutenants are subordinate to captains. 在陆军中，中尉是上尉的下级。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lieutenants now cap at 1.5 from 1. Recon at 1. 中尉现在由1人口增加的1.5人口。侦查小组成员为1人口。 来自互联网

8 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

13 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。