2006年VOA标准英语-Iraq Continues To Dominate U.S. Politics

By Jim Malone
Washington, DC
15 March 2006
 
watch Iraq US Politics

 
President Bush
  
Three years after the U.S.-led invasion, Iraq continues to dominate American politics like no other issue.  Recent public opinion polls suggest Americans are losing patience with the Iraq effort, complicating¹ President Bush's attempts to shore up domestic support. An Associated Press public opinion poll indicates nearly four out of five Americans, including 70 percent of the President's own party, believe civil war will break out in Iraq -- and that could have a huge impact on Mr. Bush's presidency².

VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.

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U.S.-led coalition³ forces sped to a quick military victory in Iraq, toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein.

But achieving a stable peace in the country has proved to be much more elusive⁴.

Over the past year, continuing U.S. casualties coupled with daily images of violence and chaos⁵ have driven down domestic support for the war effort in general and for President Bush's handling of Iraq in particular.

Karlyn Bowman monitors public opinion at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. "I think that is because most Americans are anxious when we have our troops in harm's way and they want to know what the president's intentions are and they also want to believe that those intentions are being carried out effectively and they have their doubts on the latter score today."

After narrowly winning re-election in 2004, President Bush has had a difficult time retaining public support, in part because of high fuel prices at home and the much criticized government response to Hurricane Katrina.

But political analyst⁶ Stuart Rothenberg says public worries over Iraq remain at the heart of the president's political problems.

 
Stuart Rothenberg (file photo) 
  
"Fundamentally, it has undermined George Bush's credibility, raised questions about his leadership, and I think been the single greatest factor contributing to his political problems at home."

Several recent public opinion polls indicate a majority of the public now opposes the war in Iraq, does not believe the effort was worth the cost ,and fears Iraq may be headed for civil war.

"They now question why we went in there, believe we should not have gone in there.  The entire rationale in terms of weapons of mass destruction has been undercut.  And simply the way the war has gone has raised questions about the administration policy and their management of the war," said Mr. Rothenberg.

President Bush is well aware of the public doubts about Iraq.  He has given a series of speeches around the country in hopes of boosting domestic support, including this one in February.

"We are fixing what has not worked.  We will continue to make changes as necessary to complete the mission, to meet the objective, and that is a country which can sustain itself, defend itself, protect itself and serve as a strong ally in the war on terror."

The president's Republican supporters hope the situation in Iraq will settle down before the upcoming congressional elections in November.  Democrats⁷ expect to pick up seats in the elections at least in part because of public dissatisfaction over the Iraq effort.

But as a party, Democrats remain divided over Iraq, with a vocal⁸ minority demanding a speedy pullout.

Congressman⁹ John Murtha (file photo)   
  

Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha supported the war at first.  Now he wants U.S. troops out of Iraq. "The war in Iraq is not going as advertised.  It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion."

But the polls suggest many Americans do not believe that Democrats would handle Iraq much differently.

Again, polling expert Karlyn Bowman. "There are many different voices within the Democratic Party, some arguing very strongly for an immediate¹⁰ withdrawal¹¹, some saying that we have to stay the course and the Democrats are not speaking with a clear voice about Iraq right now."

Democrats may be divided, but political experts now see the November midterm elections as a likely referendum on Mr. Bush's handling of Iraq.

1 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 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》

8 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

9 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。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 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。