VOA常速英语2014--奥巴马权衡化解伊拉克危机方案

 

Obama Weighs in on Iraq Crisis 奥巴马权衡化解伊拉克危机方案

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama continues to rule out sending U.S. combat forces to Iraq, while voicing concern about Sunni militants¹ who have seized large swaths of territory north of Baghdad. Meanwhile, the Iraqi crisis has emboldened² critics of Obama’s foreign policy, including an architect of the Iraq War launched in 2003: former Vice³ President Dick Cheney.

美国总统奥巴马仍排除派遣美国作战部队前往伊拉克的可能性，但他对逊尼派激进分子占领巴格达北部大部分地区表示关切。美国之音记者鲍曼报道说，伊拉克危机加大了对奥巴马外交政策的批评，批评者包括2003年伊拉克战争的策划者之一前副总统切尼。

Thousands of Iraqi Shi'ites race to Baghdad to defend it against militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) who continue to capture towns and threaten the country's oil infrastructure⁴.

伊拉克数以千计的什叶派穆斯林急速增援巴格达，保卫这座城市免遭“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国”激进分子的攻陷。这个激进组织继续攻占伊拉克城镇，危及着这个国家的石油基础设施。

A potential refugee crisis is brewing⁵ amid shortages of fuel and medicine elsewhere in the country.

伊拉克其他地区由于缺少燃料和药品，可能爆发的难民危机正在形成。

President Obama says the situation could spread more broadly in the Middle East, but continues to limit the scope of potential U.S. involvement.

奥巴马总统说，这种局势可能在中东地区蔓延，但仍限制美国可能参与的程度。

“American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq, but we will help Iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the Iraqi people, the region and American interests as well," says Obama.

他说：“美国部队不会重返伊拉克作战，但是我们将帮助伊拉克人同危及伊拉克人民，危及地区和美国利益的恐怖分子作战。”

But America is shrinking from the world stage with disastrous⁶ results, according to former Vice President Dick Cheney.

前副总统切尼说，美国在世界舞台上的作用越来越小，带来灾难性的后果。

“We have left a big vacuum in the Middle East by our withdrawal⁷ from Iraq with no stay-behind agreement, by the commitment he (Obama) made a couple weeks ago that we are going to completely withdraw from Afghanistan with no stay-behind agreement.  They (the Obama administration) are still living back in the day when they claimed, ‘We got [Osama] bin⁸ Laden⁹, the terrorism problem is solved.'  That was not true then; it is even less true today,” said Cheney, speaking on ABC’s This Week program.

他说：“我们从伊拉克撤军没有任何后续协议，奥巴马几个星期前承诺，我们没有签署后续协议，就将从阿富汗全部撤军，这也给中东留下了巨大真空。他们仍停留在宣称‘我们抓住了本拉登，恐怖主义问题解决了’的日子里。当时就不是那么回事儿，现在更非如此。”

The Iraq War remains¹⁰ one of America’s least popular military engagements, and polls show little support for another armed U.S. intervention¹¹ in Iraq.  Democratic Senator Harry¹² Reid heaped scorn on Cheney.

伊拉克战争仍然是美国最不受欢迎的军事介入之一，民调显示，民众对美国再次军事介入伊拉克支持甚微。参议院民主党领袖里德对切尼冷嘲热讽。

“If there is one thing this country does not need, it is that we should be taking advice from Dick Cheney on wars,” said Reid.

他说：“如果说美国不需要某种东西，那就是不要听取切尼对战争的建议。”

But many Republican lawmakers, and some Democrats¹³, say the United States must consider a more muscular response to terrorist-fueled militancy¹⁴ engulfing¹⁵ the Middle East. Among them is Senator John McCain.

但是很多共和党议员和一些民主党人说，美国必须考虑对吞噬中东的恐怖主义武装行动做出更加强势的反应，麦凯恩就是其中之一。

“They will pose a direct threat to the security of the United States.  I say to the critics who say do nothing and let them (Iraqis) fight it out, you cannot confine this conflict to Iraq and Syria,” said McCain.

他说：“他们直接对美国的安全构成威胁。我要对那些坐视不管，让伊拉克人一决雌雄的人说，这场冲突不仅局限于伊拉克和叙利亚。”

Iraq’s government has requested U.S. air strikes targeting Sunni militants, an option President Obama has neither ruled in or out.

伊拉克政府要求美国对逊尼派激进分子进行空袭，奥巴马对此既没有同意，也没有排除。

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said air strikes will be of little use without what he termed a more “inclusive government in Iraq.”

联合国秘书长潘基文说，‘伊拉克没有一个更包容性的政府’，空中打击的作用无济于事。

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

6 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

7 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。

8 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

9 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

12 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。

13 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》

14 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

15 engulfing   

adj.吞噬的v.吞没，包住( engulf的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house darkness. 一位摄影师把电灯的保险丝烧断了，使整栋房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A professional photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house in darkness. 一位职业摄影师把保险丝烧断了使整所房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自辞典例句