VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Faces Divided US Public, Congres

Jim Malone | Washington 02 December 2009

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Charles M. Babington, leader of the 1st Platoon, Able Troop 3-71 Cavalry¹ Squadron, points out as the men under his command arrive at the village of Baraki Rajn, Baraki Barak district, Logar province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

President Barack Obama's decision to send 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan comes at a time when the American public appears increasingly skeptical² about the long-term U.S. role there.  In addition, Mr. Obama faces opposition³ from some members of his own Democratic Party who fear a quagmire⁴ in Afghanistan, and doubts from some Republicans who question his commitment to the struggle. 

With more U.S. troops headed into harm's way in Afghanistan, U.S. public-opinion polls show declining support for the war.

This is Quinnipiac University pollster Peter Brown:

"Generally, enthusiam for the war in Afghanistan is waning⁵, and support for the president's handling of it is dropping," said Peter Brown.

For many Americans, finding a job and getting affordable⁶ health care are more important priorities than the war in Afghanistan, a concern the president addressed in his speech.

"That is why our troop commitment in Afghanistan cannot be open-ended, because the nation that I am most interested in building is our own," said President Obama.

Some liberal Democrats⁷ have vowed⁸ to fight the troop increase in Congress.  They worry about the cost of additional troops and fear the United States could become entangled⁹ in another quagmire like the Vietnam War.

This is Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin:

Senator Russ Feingold

"Many members of my caucus¹⁰, and I believe members of the Republican caucus, perhaps from different philosophical¹¹ perspectives, will come to the same conclusion, that this is a mistake to move in the direction of this huge troop buildup," said Russ Feingold.

But the president also faces criticism on the right, from Republicans concerned about his plan to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the middle of 2011.

Senator John McCain spoke¹² on ABC's Good Morning America:

"But when you tell your enemies that there is a date when you are going to start leaving, if that is what it is, it emboldens¹³ your enemies and dispirits your friends," said John McCain.

To fund the troop buildup, the president may have to turn to the same Republicans who are trying to kill his health-care reform plan, says pollster Peter Brown.

"One of the things that is interesting about Afghanistan and potentially very important to the politics of this thing is that the coalition¹⁴ behind President Obama for being in Afghanistan is diametrically different than the coalition that is backing him on his domestic agenda," he said.

With the U.S. public divided over the way forward in Afghanistan, Mr. Obama faces a major political challenge at home that will test his presidential leadership skills.

Kim Kagan is a military historian and president of the Institute for the Study of War:

"Although we live in a democracy here in America, and American public opinion is an essential component¹⁵ of how our elected leaders think about these problem sets, what we also see is that leadership matters," said Kim Kagan.

Experts say the best way to build support for the war at home is to achieve some success on the ground, but that will take time.

Michael O'Hanlon is a foreign policy and defense¹⁶ analyst¹⁷ at the Brookings Institution in Washington:

"If Americans see progress, remember the stakes of this war and recognize that we are not going to be there forever, but that we need a couple more years to consolidate¹⁸ the progress that we have begun to achieve, that the public will stay behind the effort, begrudgingly¹⁹, unhappily, but nonetheless at the end of the day with support," said Michael O'Hanlon.

As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama often criticized the Bush administration's handling of the war in Afghanistan.

But analysts²⁰ say the president's speech outlining his new strategy effectively transfers responsibility of the war to Mr. Obama, and they say his political fate will be closely tied to a successful outcome in Afghanistan.
 

1 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

2 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

3 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。

4 quagmire   

n.沼地

参考例句：

• On their way was a quagmire which was difficult to get over.路上他俩遇到了—个泥坑,很难过得去。
• Rain had turned the grass into a quagmire.大雨使草地变得一片泥泞。

5 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

7 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》

8 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

9 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

11 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

12 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

参考例句：

• 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。

13 emboldens   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This condition emboldens employers and brokers to exploit more the migrant workers. 这样的情形使得雇主及仲介业者得以大胆地剥削移民劳工。 来自互联网
• In turn, Kobe's growing confidence emboldens his teammates to play even better. 反过来，科比增加了对他们的信任也促使队友们打得更好。 来自互联网

14 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。

15 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

16 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

17 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

18 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

19 begrudgingly   

小气地，吝啬地

参考例句：

• Then, begrudgingly, I clean up – which doesn't really take that much time. 于是，为了省钱，我打扫干净－－那也不需要花很多时间。
• His terrible directness made me feel peeved, and begrudgingly I conceded that he was right. 他的坦率让我恼火。我承认他是对的，但十分不甘心。

20 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。