2007年VOA标准英语-Bush's Iraq Report Generates More Controversy

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
12 July 2007

President Bush's report to Congress Thursday evaluating progress toward 18 benchmarks of success in Iraq generated immediate¹ controversy², with supporters and opponents of the president's policy seizing on various parts of the report to justify³ their views. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Al Pessin has this look at the report, and at what people on both sides of the issue are saying about it.

President Bush talks to reporters during press conference, 12 Jul 2007

The president's report gives the Iraqi government a satisfactory rating on eight benchmarks, unsatisfactory on eight others, and a mixed assessment⁴ on two points. Mr. Bush says he knew from the beginning that it would provide fuel for both sides of the ongoing⁵ public and congressional debate about the new strategy and troop surge he announced in January.

"Those who believe that the battle in Iraq is lost will likely point to the unsatisfactory performance on some of the political benchmarks," said President Bush. "Those of us who believe the battle in Iraq can and must be won see the satisfactory performance on some of the security benchmarks as a cause for optimism."

An Iraqi youth reacts as a US military's Bradley fighting vehicle bursts into flames in Obeidi, in south east Baghdad, 2 Jul 2007

The president's prediction was right. Antiwar activist⁶ Moira Whelan of the National Security Network.

"Even his satisfactory benchmarks fail to demonstrate any real success in Iraq," said Moira Whelan. "The overall message here is that the surge is a complete failure."

Those "satisfactory" Iraqi government benchmarks include forming a committee to evaluate the Iraqi constitution, not allowing the creation of safe havens⁷ for violent groups, progress on a law to create semi-autonomous regions and providing three combat brigades - about 10,000 troops - to help bring security to Baghdad. But the National Security Network disputes those claims of progress. Ilan Goldenberg is a researcher who put together a what the group calls a fact-checking report on the president's document.

"They brought in three brigades, but the brigades were poorly trained and understaffed, and probably came in at roughly somewhere between 50 and 70 per cent of what they'd actually offered," said Goldenberg. "And there are a lot of news reports about how the Baghdad security operation was behind schedule because of the fact that they didn't have enough people."

Goldenberg and other antiwar activists⁸ also emphasize the areas where President Bush acknowledged the Iraqi government's performance was not satisfactory. Those include the lack of progress on key laws on sharing oil revenues and easing de-Baathification, failure to end political interference in military decisions, a lack of fairness to the various sectarian groups by law enforcement authorities and a promise to increase the number Iraqi military units capable of operating independently.

Still, supporters of the president stress the difficulty of achieving those goals in the midst of a war, and say his six-month-old new strategy and the one-month-old military offensive should be given more time. Among them is Brian Darling of the Heritage Foundation.

"The president should be given more time," he said. "We're talking about fighting a war and defeating an enemy that is resourceful and could pose a danger to the continental⁹ United States. So it's important that the president be given time to win the war."

Darling points out that U.S. generals in Iraq say they are making progress and have appealed for more time, and he believes the president is right to listen to them.

Not surprisingly, the same divergent views of the president's report were expressed on Capitol Hill Thursday. In recent weeks, President Bush has lost the support of several senators from his own Republican Party. But others are sticking with him, including Senator Lindsey Graham.

"For two, three years many of us have urged a change in strategy," said Senator Graham. "Well, now we've got one, and it's working. We have made mistakes, but the worst mistake is yet to come. The worst mistake would be to change strategy at a time when it is beginning to show dividends¹⁰."

On the Democratic side, Senate Majority Leader Harry¹¹ Reid, who has already said the war has been lost in Iraq, called for another strategy change now, one that would get U.S. troops out of Iraq as quickly as possible.

"It's well past time for a change of course in Iraq," said Senator Reid. "The time to do this is now, not September. We're told good progress is being made. How many times over the last four and a half years have we heard this? Too many to number. Good progress is not being made."

September is when the president's next report is due, and even senior aides acknowledge they will have to show more substantial progress in Iraq by then. If not, they may be hard pressed to prevent Congress from trying to force a withdrawal¹² of U.S. troops - a withdrawal that the president and many military officers believe would be premature¹³, and would lead to disaster for Iraq and possibly a regional war.

1 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。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

4 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

10 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

11 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

12 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。

13 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。