2007年VOA标准英语-Army Chief Says US Can Sustain Surge until Spri

By Al Pessin
14 August 2007

The head of the U.S. army says the military can sustain the current surge of forces in Iraq until next spring without changing deployment¹ policies. But the general says it will take longer than that to create a stable society in Iraq. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

Gen. George Casey (Feb 2007)

General George Casey told the National Press Club he wants to ease the strain on the U.S. army by ending the extended 15-month deployments to combat zones. But he says he will not be able to do that until the U.S. troop commitment to Iraq comes down.

There are currently about 162,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, most of them from the army. General Casey noted² that the number will come down automatically in the spring when the deployments of the extra forces sent earlier this year expire, unless there is an order to send more troops to replace them.

"The surge was and remains³ a temporary function," said General Casey. "I think we're on record here as saying the surge can be sustained through the spring without changes to the existing mobilization and deployment policies. And that's where we are. And we're going to wait and see here what happens, what our commanders on the ground recommend in the coming months."

Commanders have already indicated they are making progress establishing security and training Iraqi forces to take over. But they have been reluctant to say when a drawdown of U.S. troops could start without risking an increase in violence.

Part of the reason is the continuing deadlock⁴ among Iraqi politicians. They have not been able to agree on a series of measures designed to promote national reconciliation⁵, including laws on oil revenue sharing, regional autonomy and easing de-Baathification. General Casey, who commanded coalition⁶ forces in Iraq from mid-2004 until early this year, said the issues are difficult for the Iraqi leaders, but they can resolve them.

"When they want something to happen, like in the first elections and the second elections, it happens," he said. "And right now there's just so much residual⁷ mistrust left over from the time under Saddam Hussein that they're not quite ready to go forward."

General Casey also said it could take ten years for Iraq to fulfill⁸ its potential and become a prosperous, stable country. But he said he has never doubted that that can happen if the United States maintains its commitment.

"It will take patience and it will take will, and the terrorists are out to undermine our will, our national will to prosecute⁹ this," said General Casey. "As complex, and as difficult, and as confusing as you may find Iraq, we can succeed there. And we will succeed there if we demonstrate patience and will."

General Casey was not asked about the deterioration¹⁰ of the situation in Iraq during the final year of his tour of duty there, during which he repeatedly said he did not need more troops. But he said the current surge strategy is working, and now it is up to the Iraqi leaders to do their part to end the violence.

1 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 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。

4 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

5 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。

6 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。

7 residual   

adj.复播复映追加时间；存留下来的，剩余的

参考例句：

• There are still a few residual problems with the computer program.电脑程序还有一些残留问题。
• The resulting residual chromatism is known as secondary spectrum.所得到的剩余色差叫做二次光谱。

8 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

9 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

10 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。