NPR 2009-07-23

President Obama says the US is still on track to pull all troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011. His comments came following an Oval Office meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki today. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

The message from both Mr. Obama and the Iraqi leader is that the recent US troop withdrawal¹ from Iraqi urban areas is going well that despite some strategic differences that each says are dealt with as they arise. The president calls it an important moment that will lead to an eventual² US pullout from the country. "Prime Minister Maliki and I have no doubt that there will be some tough days ahead. There will be attacks on Iraqi security forces and the American troops supporting them. There are still those in Iraq who would murder innocent men, women and children. There are still those who want to foment³ sectarian conflict. But make no mistake, those efforts will fail." The president also pledged to work with the United Nations to lift Saddam Hussein era sanctions imposed against Iraq. Don Gonyea, NPR News, the White House.

As President Obama continues his push towards reworking the nation's health care system, there is some resistance coming from both sides of the aisle⁴. While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today she remains⁵ confident there will be a vote on health care next week, others are less certain. Entering a closed-door meeting of Democratic lawmakers, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel of New York told a colleague today nobody wants to tell Pelosi she is moving too fast. And speaking on the House floor, Republican leader Mitch McConnell had a similar criticism. "This is too important to be rash, we need to take our time and do it right." President Obama for his part has remained on the offensive. He is expected to plead this case for a broad health care overhaul⁶ during a scheduled news conference this evening.

National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair is rejecting charges that his organization has gotten too big. Blair was responding to questions before an audience at the US Chamber⁷ of Commerce. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reports.

Congress has leveled charges of bureaucratic⁸ bloat at the Director of National Intelligence almost since the day they voted to create the post. Many lawmakers say the idea was to create a lean, mean quarterback for US Intelligence efforts, not a huge layer of bureaucracy on top of the CIA and other spy agencies. But Director Dennis Blair, who took up the job this past January, says once you take away all the people on assignment from other agencies, he is running the entire intelligence community with a staff of only about 600 people.

"To lead an organization of 100, 000, I think it is roughly right and I'm adjusting it with a scalpel not a meat axe⁹." In other words, Blair says he is open to some small adjustments. Mary Louise Kelly, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 34 points to end the session at 8, 881. The NASDAQ gained 10 points today. The Standard & Poor’s 500 was down a fraction.

This is NPR.

Authorities say records of the Virginia tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho have turned up at the home of the former director of the university's counseling center. The latest development on the case was revealed in a memo¹⁰ from Governor Tim Kaine's chief legal counsel to the families of the 32 victims of the shooting rampage Cho carried out on the Virginia Tech Campus in April, 2007. The records were said to have been removed from the center more than a year before the shootings when Dr. Robert Miller¹¹ transferred to his position as director. The records of several other students were also found. Virginia's state police are conducting a criminal investigation¹² into how those records disappeared.

A Court at The Hague is redrawing the boundaries of an oil region claimed by both north and south Sudan. Both sides have said they will respect the agreement. But as NPR's Gwen Tompkins reports, the people most affected¹³ by the ruling have yet to weigh in.

The Abyei region is filled with people from a branch of the Dinka tribe, who are loyal to Southern Sudan and a population of Arab herdsmen called the Misseriya, who are more closely associated with northern Sudan. Both groups have been rambling¹⁴ with their animals over Abyei for a century or more. And Wednesday's ruling on the new boundaries of the region will reportedly not affect the rambling rights of either. But there has been increasing tension between the two groups over natural resources in Abyei. And the new map has changed the boundaries of some important grazing land and watering spots. For oil investors¹⁵ like China, Malaysia and India, Wednesday's decision means business as usual. But the local tribes must ultimately decide whether they can live with the changes to their territory. Gwen Tompkins, NPR News, Nairobi.

Airplane builder Boeing beat the street in terms of its second quarter earnings¹⁶. The company says for its latest quarter it earned $998 million or $1. 41 a share.

I'm Jack¹⁷ Speer, NPR News in Washington.

1 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。

2 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

3 foment   

v.煽动，助长

参考例句：

• The rebels know the truth and seek to foment revolution.那些叛乱者知道真相，并且想办法来挑起革命。
• That's an attempt to foment discord.这是挑拨。

4 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

5 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。

6 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

7 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

8 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

9 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

10 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

11 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 rambling   

adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的

参考例句：

• We spent the summer rambling in Ireland. 我们花了一个夏天漫游爱尔兰。
• It was easy to get lost in the rambling house. 在布局凌乱的大房子里容易迷路。

15 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

16 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

17 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。