VOA常速英语2008年-Democrats, Republicans Respond to Bush Decision

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
10 April 2008

Democrats¹ are criticizing President Bush's latest decisions on military deployments in Iraq, based on recommendations of the U.S. military commander and senior U.S. diplomat³ in the country.  VOA's Dan Robinson reports, Republicans supported the president, who approved a plan to reduce the length of U.S. troop deployments, but suspend force withdrawals⁵ from Iraq after July.

Appearing after President Bush announced his decisions at the White House, Democratic House and Senate leaders held a news conference in the U.S. Capitol.

Senate Majority Leader Harry⁶ Reid referred to the week's testimony⁷ by U.S. Iraq commander General Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, and noted⁸ that after July, when the U.S. military surge force is withdrawn⁹, U.S. troops in Iraq will still number about 140,000:

"This is not a so-called troop withdrawal⁴ pause," he said.  "With today's announcement the president signaled to the American people that he has no intention of bringing home anymore troops.  Instead he is leaving all the tough decisions to the only person that is going to have to make those tough decisions, the next president of the United States."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accuses the president of dragging the war out, and repeats the assertion that Iraq is diverting attention from Afghanistan, where Democrats say the real war on terrorism needs to be fought:

"When we know that the real war on terror is in Afghanistan, how can we have that real effort with a sustained effort in Iraq continuing?" she asked.

With Reid and Pelosi were representatives of two military veterans groups opposed to the president's Iraq policies

John Soltz is an Iraq war veteran who heads the VoteVets.org:

"For the president to stand up tonight and explain to the country that he is somehow going to lower troop levels from 15 months to 12 months starting August 1 is a direct misrepresentation of the truth," he said.

President Bush's decision on reducing deployments to 12 months would take effect on August 1, but would not affect U.S. forces already deployed¹⁰ on the front lines.

Bobby Muller, who heads Veterans for America, calls the decision effectively meaningless:

"Half of the front-line units in the Army [are] already deployed on 15 month deployments," he said.  "The majority of the units scheduled to deploy² throughout this year are not regular Army anymore.  We are going to the domestic unit[s], we're going to the National Guard, the majority are going to be National Guard units who already served 12 month tours."

Republicans welcomed the president's decision, saying it will help reduce stress on U.S. forces.

They also focused on the testimony to Congress by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker, with Republican Senator John Cornyn saying the pace of U.S. withdrawals must be based on conditions:

"We need to leave Iraq when it has the capability¹¹ to govern and defend itself," he said.  "That is because it is in our vital national security interests to do so."

Senate Republican Lindsey Graham pronounces as dead any new Democratic efforts to set any timetables:

"I think you would look pretty foolish right now to be quite honest to suggest that the Congress knows more than General Petraeus," he said.

But Democrats vow¹² to continue their attempts to use legislation to impact the president's Iraq policies will continue, with Pelosi and Reid saying they will mount legislative¹³ efforts to formally mandate¹⁴ the amount of time troops must have between deployments, among other things.

1 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》

2 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

3 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

4 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。

5 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

6 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

7 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

10 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

11 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

12 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

13 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

14 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。