IN THE NEWS - Bush Announces Troop Redeployment Plan

IN THE NEWS - Bush Announces Troop Redeployment Plan
By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Saturday, August 21, 2004

This is Steve Ember with In the News in VOA Special English.

 
United States troops in Stuttgart, Germany.
President Bush this week announced a major redeployment of American military forces around the world. Mister Bush said the plan would take place over the next ten years. He said sixty thousand to seventy thousand soldiers will return to the United States. About one hundred thousand family members and civilian¹ employees would also return home.

Currently, about two hundred thirty thousand troops are stationed outside the United States, in countries other than Iraq and Afghanistan. Most are in Germany, Japan and South Korea. The United States has about ninety thousand troops in Asia and the Pacific.

The president said the redeployment would create a military that is better prepared to fight terrorism. More troops would be stationed in the United States and could be deployed² from there as needed. Mister Bush says base closures as a result of the redeployment would also reduce costs. And he says the plan would improve life for military families.

The United States has kept a strong military presence in Europe and Asia since World War Two ended in nineteen forty-five. Troops were stationed in Europe to contain the threat of communism. American officials say the end of the Soviet³ Union means that large numbers of troops are no longer needed.

Under the new plan, officials say about thirty thousand troops in Germany would be replaced by a smaller force that could be deployed more quickly. The first troops from Germany are not expected to be brought home before late next year. Germany has expressed concern about the effect that the reduction would have on its economy.

American officials say some troops could be moved to eastern European nations. That would put them closer to areas like the Balkans and the Middle East. Many experts say they do not believe American forces in Asia will be greatly reduced, and may even be increased. But officials say the plan is not designed to provide more troops for Iraq. Defense⁴ officials say they will talk about the plan with American allies.

Mister Bush announced his plan Monday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry criticized the plan when he spoke⁵ at the convention on Wednesday. He said the plan would not increase America's ability to combat terrorism. And he said it would not ease the stress on American troops. Senator Kerry stated, "Nobody wants to bring troops home more than those of us who have fought in foreign wars." But he added that this is not the right time or the sensible way to do it.

National security is an important issue in this year's presidential election. A new public opinion study was released this week. The Americans questioned in the study said that national security and foreign policy issues were more important than economic issues.

In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

2 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。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 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。

5 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。