VOA常速英语2008年-Bush: Iraq Decisions Will Not Be Affected By 'P

By Scott Stearns
White House
11 March 2008

President Bush says America's election-year politics will not affect his commitment to keep U.S. troops in Iraq. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, Mr. Bush says his decision to send more troops to Iraq has helped improve security.

President Bush says he will carefully consider the recommendations of U.S. military and diplomatic chiefs in Baghdad when they deliver their status report on the war next month.

But he told a convention of religious broadcasters in the southern state of Tennessee he can say his decision to send 30,000 reinforcements to Iraq last year is making a difference.

"Since the surge began, sectarian killings¹ are down and al-Qaida has been driven from many strongholds it once held. I strongly believe the surge is working and so do the Iraqis," he said.

President Bush says the success of the surge has allowed him to bring some U.S. troops home from Iraq. But the pace of future withdrawals² will depend on the recommendations of the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and the top U.S. commander there, General David Petraeus.

Mr. Bush says troop withdrawals is a decision for commanders on the ground not politicians in Washington. "The politics of 2008 is not going to enter in my calculation. It is the peace of the years to come that will enter into my calculation," he said.

The president says recent gains in Iraq are fragile and reversible because the enemy there is resilient.

White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino says this was the first in a series of speeches the president will give on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan before next month's report from Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus as well as April's NATO summit in Romania.

All 26 members of the NATO alliance have troops in Afghanistan, but some have restrictions³ on their deployment⁴ that keep their soldiers out of areas where combat with Taliban fighters is more likely.

President Bush wants more NATO troops on the front lines. At the Bucharest summit, he says he will thank alliance members for standing⁵ with what he says are the brave Afghans of a young democracy. "I will also ask NATO to join the United States in doing even more. Now is the time for nations to make the hard decisions necessary so our children can grow up in a more peaceful world," he said.

The war in Iraq continues to be a big part of campaigning to succeed President Bush in 2009. Presumptive Republican candidate John McCain generally supports the president's current policy in Iraq. Democratic contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both say they would move faster to withdraw more U.S. forces.

1 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

2 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。