Bush Offers Five-Step Strategy for Iraq's Future

 

Scott Stearns

President Bush says he has a clear strategy for the future of Iraq. Mr. Bush laid out his plan at a time when U.S. public opinion polls show falling support for his handling of the situation in Iraq.
President Bush says U.S. troops in Iraq are not only fighting insurgents² but are also battling to make life better for the Iraqi people.
"America's task in Iraq is not only to defeat an enemy, it is to give strength to a friend - a free, representative government that serves its people and fights on their behalf," he says. "And the sooner this goal is achieved, the sooner our job will be done."
Mr. Bush, speaking at the U.S. Army's war college in Pennsylvania, said that there are five steps to help Iraq achieve democracy and freedom: handing power to a sovereign government, establishing security, rebuilding infrastructure³, encouraging more international support and moving toward national elections.
The first step is the scheduled June 30 hand-over of power which Mr. Bush says will follow the outlines of U.N. special envoy⁴ Lakhdar Brahimi. That calls for a president, two vice⁵ presidents, and a prime minister leading to a cabinet with 26 ministers who will be advised by a national council chosen by Iraqis.
To help establish security, the president says U.S. troops will remain in Iraq under U.S. command as part of a multinational⁶ force that he hopes will be authorized⁷ by the United Nations. Iraqi security forces under Iraqi civilian⁸ control will be part of what Mr. Bush calls a strong partnership⁹ in defense¹⁰ of two competing visions for Iraq's future.
"History is moving, and it will tend toward hope, or tend toward tragedy," he said. "Our terrorist enemies have a vision that guides and explains all their varied¹¹ acts of murder."
The president says U.S. troops are also guided by a vision to advance freedom in the Middle East and win what he calls this hard-won ground for the realm of liberty.
Mr. Bush says Washington will continue to rebuild the country's infrastructure with more than $20 billion worth of development projects.
With the approval of Iraqi's new government, Mr. Bush says America will build a new maximum security prison and demolish¹² the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, where Saddam Hussein tortured political opponents and U.S. troops abused Iraqi prisoners. "That same prison became a symbol of disgraceful conduct by a few American troops who dishonored our country and disregarded our values," said Mr. Bush.
The president called for stronger international support for Iraq with a new U.S.-British-sponsored resolution at the United Nations that supports a new interim¹³ government and encourages U.N. members to join the reconstruction¹⁴. That resolution faces doubts at the U.N. about how much sovereignty a new Iraqi government will have with more than 130,000 U.S. troops in the country.
Wrapping-up the president's plans for Iraq is a timetable for free elections by next January where Iraqis will choose a transitional national assembly to name a transitional government and draft a new constitution.
The president's speech comes at an important time for both Iraq's transition - which is five weeks away - and hopes for his own re-election this November. The speech was broadcast by the major American cable news channels but not by the more widely-watched commercial networks.
The White House did not specifically ask those networks to carry the speech as it did not include dramatically new information, but the president's political team hopes the address will shore-up falling poll numbers.
Less than half of Americans approve of the president's overall job performance according to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll. On Iraq, his numbers were at a personal low, with 58 percent of those polled disapproving¹⁵ of his handling of the situation in Iraq. Fifty-seven percent disapprove¹⁶ of the way he is handling the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. That is up 22 points from earlier this month.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans say the United States has gotten bogged¹⁷ down in Iraq with just 38 percent saying they see significant progress toward establishing a democratic government there.

注释：
lay out 拿出，展示
insurgent¹ [in5sE:dVEnt] n. 造反者，暴动者
on one's behalf 为了……的利益
sovereign [5sCvrin] .adj. 独立自主的
infrastructure [5infrEstrQktFE(r)] n. 基础设施
scheduled [5Fedju:ld] adj. 预定的
outline [5Eutlain] n. 要点，概要
multinational [mQlti5nAFEn(E)l] adj. 多国的
in defense of 服从
vision [5viVEn] n. 设想，前景
tend toward 走向
hard-won [`hB:d5wQn] adj. 难得的，来之不易的
realm [relm] n. 王国，领域
notorious [nEu5tC:rIEs] adj. 声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的
Abu Ghraib prison 巴格达阿布·哈里卜监狱
dishonor [dis5CnE] v. 使……耻辱，使……蒙羞
disregard [7disri5^B:d] v. 漠视，轻视
draft [drB:ft] v. 草拟，起草
specifically [spi5sifikEli] adv. 明确地，清楚地
shore-up 支持
ABC American Broadcasting Company 美国广播公司
poll [pEul] v. 投票
get bogged down 陷入困境

1 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

2 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

5 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。

6 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

7 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

8 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。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 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。

11 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

12 demolish   

v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等)

参考例句：

• They're going to demolish that old building.他们将拆毁那座旧建筑物。
• He was helping to demolish an underground garage when part of the roof collapsed.他当时正在帮忙拆除一个地下汽车库，屋顶的一部份突然倒塌。

13 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

14 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

15 disapproving   

adj.不满的，反对的v.不赞成( disapprove的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Mother gave me a disapproving look. 母亲的眼神告诉我她是不赞成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her father threw a disapproving glance at her. 她父亲不满地瞥了她一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

17 bogged   

adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》