VOA常速英语2007年-Bush Discusses 2008 Foreign Policy Challenges

By Paula Wolfson
White House
20 December 2007

President Bush says he is looking forward to his trip to the Middle East, and is curious about what lies ahead for Russia. VOA White House correspondent Paula Wolfson reports the president used an end-of-the year news conference to discuss the foreign policy challenges he is likely to face in 2008.

President Bush will be off to the Middle East early in the new year, and he says he has several objectives for the trip.

"One is to advance the Palestinian-Israeli peace process," he said. "Secondly¹, is to continue to work with our Arab friends on reconciliation² with Israel. And finally is to assure people in Middle East that we understand and will show a strong commitment to the security of the region."

The seven-stop tour of the region will include his first visits to Israel and the West Bank as president.

During his news conference, the president also spoke³ about his hopes for political progress in Iraq. He said all of his expectations have not been met, but added the legislative⁴ process is not always smooth, even in countries with centuries-old democracies like the United States.

"Are we satisfied with the progress in Baghdad? No. But to say nothing is happening is just simply not the case," he said.

President Bush indicated people seem to be feeling better about their lives in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He said U.S., Afghan and NATO troops are on the offensive against Taliban militants⁵ in Afghanistan, noting a review of strategy options there is currently underway.

"It makes sense for us to constantly review our strategy in a variety of theaters. That is what good governance is," he said.

The president praised the work of NATO units from across the alliance. He urged their governments to remain engaged.

"So our objective is to help people meet a mission that they are comfortable with achieving and convince them that this is going to take a while, it is going to take time for this democratic experiment in Afghanistan to work. And I believe it will," said Mr. Bush.

The president talked about his meetings during 2007 with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other world leaders. And he looked ahead to his first contacts in 2008 with new players on the international stage.

He spoke specifically about Russia, which will elect a new president in a few months, replacing Vladimir Putin.

President Putin has been named Time magazine's 2007 'Person of the Year' for his efforts to impose stability and enhance Russia's stature⁶ as a world power.

President Bush said only time will tell whether the changes that got Vladimir Putin on the cover of Time magazine have really changed Russia for the better.

"I presume they put him on there because he was a consequential⁷ leader. And the fundamental question is consequential to what end? What will the country look like 10 years from now? My hope of course, is that Russia is a country that understands there needs to be checks and balances, free and fair elections and a vibrant⁸ press," Mr. Bush said.

President Putin's likely successor is Dmitry Medvedev, who has already said he would like to see Vladmir Putin become prime minister.

1 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

2 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

3 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。

4 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

7 consequential   

adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的

参考例句：

• She was injured and suffered a consequential loss of earnings.她受了伤因而收入受损。
• This new transformation is at least as consequential as that one was.这一新的转变至少和那次一样重要。

8 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。