VOA常速英语2007-Bush Administration Urges Turkish Restraint on K

By Paula Wolfson
Washington
14 October 2007

Bush administration officials are urging Turkey not to take military action against Kurdish rebels in neighboring Iraq. Meanwhile, the White House is trying to stop a congressional vote on a controversial resolution that has angered the Turkish government. VOA's Paula Wolfson has details from the White House.

There are concerns in Washington that Turkish cross-border attacks on Kurdish rebels could lead to a broader war in Iraq.

U.S. envoys¹ have been dispatched to Ankara, the Turkish capital, to appeal for restraint. But their task is complicated by a backlash in Turkey to a non-binding resolution now making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives.

That resolution deals with a bloody² event in 1915 - the mass killings³ of Armenians during the final days of the Ottoman Empire. The resolution says these deaths amounted to genocide.

The Turkish government argues there was no genocide, that the Armenians died in a war in which Turks were also killed. The issue is so sensitive in Ankara, that the Turkish ambassador to the United States was recalled after the measure cleared the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

President Bush urged House leaders against further action.

"This resolution is not the right response to these historic mass killings," said President Bush.

And Secretary of Defense⁴ Robert Gates warned lawmakers that Turkey could retaliate⁵ by limiting access to vital routes used to supply U.S. forces in Iraq.

"Access to the road and airfields⁶ and so on in Turkey would be very much put at risk," said Gates.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is standing⁷ firm. During an appearance on the ABC television news program This Week she predicted a final vote on the measure before the House of Representatives adjourns⁸ for the year. She said Congress has an obligation to speak out against genocide, whenever and wherever it occurs.

"It is a House resolution. It is non-binding. It is a statement made by 23 other countries, we would be the 24th country to make this statement. Genocide still exists. And we saw it in Rwanda, we see it now in Darfur," she said.

Pelosi dismissed the argument that now is not the time to bring up the Armenian mass killings. She said the survivors⁹ are very old, and America must take a moral stand. She was then asked if she would go ahead with the vote even if the defense department believes it would put U.S. forces at risk.

"I tell you this. Some of the things that are harmful to our troops relate to values, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, torture, all of those issues about who we are as a country. And I think that our troops are well served when we declare who we are as a country and increase the respect that people have for us as a nation," she said.

Appearing on the Fox News Sunday program, the top Republican in the House urged the speaker to pull the bill. Congressman¹⁰ John Boehner said there is no question the suffering of the Armenians was extreme. But he stressed what happened some 90 years ago should be a matter for historians to sort out, not politicians in Washington.

"And I think bringing this bill to the floor may be the most irresponsible thing I have seen this new congress do this year," said Boehner.

Boehner said the measure has angered a strategic ally in the war on terror, adding he is not even sure the speaker has the votes to pass the bill.

1 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

2 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

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 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

6 airfields   

n.（较小的无建筑的）飞机场( airfield的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For several days traffic fromthe Naples airfields was partially interrupted. 那不勒斯机场的对外交通部分地停顿了数天。 来自辞典例句
• We have achieved a great amount of destruction at airfields and air bases. 我们已把机场和空军基地大加破坏。 来自辞典例句

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 adjourns   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Congress adjourns in 3 weeks, we can't do this alone. 距国会开会只有3个星期，我们不能单干。
• And so, at six in the morning, a victorious Convention adjourns. 这样，早上六点，胜利的国民议会休会了。

9 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

10 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。