2006年VOA标准英语-Iraq Study Group Ready to Release Recommendatio

By Meredith Buel
05 December 2006

The bi-partisan Iraq Study Group is scheduled to release its findings Wednesday, and news reports say the panel will recommend withdrawing nearly all U.S. combat units from Iraq by early 2008. Middle East analysts¹ say the report will stimulate² the growing debate about the Bush administration's Iraq policies and could, as VOA correspondent Meredith Buel reports from Washington, lead to substantial changes in military strategy.

Many of the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group have been leaked to news media in the United States. Numerous reports say the commission will recommend major changes in the U.S. military's campaign in Iraq.

Reports say the proposal to pull out virtually all combat brigades by early 2008 is more a goal than a timetable, because U.S. military commanders in Iraq would decide if circumstances on the battlefield could allow such a move.

 
Co-chairmen of the Iraq Study Group Lee Hamilton (l) and James Baker³ 
The panel, which is co-chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman⁴ Lee Hamilton, is reportedly recommending a shift in the U.S. mission in Iraq from combat to a support role.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq David Newton, now an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute, says the report will encourage a robust⁵ debate on U.S. policy in Iraq.

"It has created probably too many expectations." he said. "But what is useful, I think, is that it really has stimulated⁶ this growing debate in the United States that the current policies - it is not a question of not working well enough, it is a question of not working period."

Reports say the plan recommends embedding⁷ more U.S. soldiers with Iraqi military units and substantially increasing the number of troops involved in the training of Iraqi forces.

Ambassador Newton says the time has come to turn over security responsibilities to the Iraqi government.

He said, "It seems to me that we cannot, at least politically, sustain the casualties every day that we are suffering in a war that now seems to have no purpose, I think, to the American people."

"Therefore, I think we do have to try to get our troops away from direct combat and see if we can train the Iraqis and motivate them," he added.

 
President George W. Bush 
President Bush, speaking last week in Jordan after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, says it is important to accelerate the training of Iraqi soldiers.

Mr. Bush says U.S. troops will stay in Iraq until their mission is complete.

"I know there is a lot of speculation⁸ that these reports in Washington mean there is going to be some kind of graceful⁹ exit out of Iraq," he said. "We are going to stay in Iraq to get the job done so long as the government wants us there."

In addition to the Iraq Study Group, the Bush administration and the Pentagon have initiated¹⁰ separate policy reviews on Iraq.

In recent days administration officials, such as National Security Adviser¹¹ Stephen Hadley, have signaled the president is weighing options for a new strategy in Iraq.

He said. "Things are not proceeding¹² well enough or fast enough in Iraq. We have to make some changes. We need a new way forward in Iraq and that is what this policy review is all about."

Danielle Pletka, the vice¹³ president of foreign and defense¹⁴ policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, says it will be difficult for U.S. political leaders to reach complete agreement on a new direction for Iraq policy.

Pletka says that is because there are no obvious solutions to ending the violence.

She said, "What we have been doing up to now has not worked. Do we put in more troops? Do we put benchmarks in? Do we talk to our enemies?"

"None of these are the silver bullet [perfect solution] that one might hope for, and because they are not it is going to be hard to rally a bi-partisan group around any set of ideas," she continued.

 
US troops of 172nd Stryker brigade patrol streets of central Baghdad, 7 Nov 2006 
Pletka believes that while President Bush is willing to consider changes in Iraq policy, he will not pull substantial numbers of American troops out of the country anytime soon.

She said, "You can either run away, admitting that we, the world's greatest superpower, are a failure, or we can seek to prevail and then depart when, in fact, we have prevailed."

"I think that the president certainly remains¹⁵ in the camp seeking to prevail. Whether or not he will stay in that camp for the coming months is not clear to anybody," she added.

The study group is also expected to recommend an aggressive diplomatic initiative in the Middle East, including engagement with Iran and Syria, a move that has been rejected by the Bush administration.

President Bush says U.S. soldiers will stay in Iraq until the government in Baghdad can rule the country, defend itself, and provide security and stability for all Iraqis.

1 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。

2 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

3 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

5 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

6 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

7 embedding   

把…嵌入，埋入( embed的现在分词 )； 植入； 埋置； 包埋

参考例句：

• Data embedding in scrambled Digital video complete source code, has been tested. 数据嵌入在炒数字视频完整的源代码，已经过测试。
• Embedding large portions of C++ code in string literals is very awkward. 将大部分C++代码嵌入到字符串中是非常笨拙的。

8 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

9 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

10 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

11 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

12 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。