2007年VOA标准英语-US General: Early US Iraq Pullout Would be 'Gia

By Cindy Saine
Washington
24 August 2007

Senator John Warner

The U.S. military commander in one of Iraq's troubled areas has rejected a call by influential¹ Republican Senator John Warner to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by the end of this year. Army Major General Rick Lynch spoke² to U.S. reporters in a video conference from Iraq Friday. VOA's Cindy Saine reports from Washington.

Major General Lynch, commander of coalition³ forces south of Baghdad, rejected Warner's troop pull-out suggestion, which came as a shock to many politicians in Washington.

"In my battlespace right now, if coalition soldiers were to leave, having fought hard for that terrain⁴, having denied the enemy their sanctuaries⁵, what would happen is the enemy would come back. He'd start building the bombs again, he'd start attacking the locals again, and he'd start exporting that violence into Baghdad and we would take a giant step backwards,'' he said.

Lynch said his forces are battling both Shi'ite and Sunni militants⁶, and are confronting Iranian infiltrators in the region. He said withdrawing some troops from Iraq might be possible by next spring or summer, if significant progress is made.

Major General Rick Lynch (June 2007 photo)

The commander specifically rejected Warner's suggestion that a few thousand U.S. troops could return home to their families by the of this year. "Only when the Iraqi security forces can come forward and say, 'okay, here I am, I'm ready, I'm the Iraqi army, I'm the Iraqi police', can I turn those sanctuaries over, and that's not going to happen between now and Christmas," he said.

Warner, of the Senate Armed Services committee, called on President Bush Thursday to announce the beginning of a troop withdrawal⁷ from Iraq on September 15.

"Take into consideration the need to send a sharp and clear message throughout the region, to the United States, and one that people can understand; I think [there is] no clearer form of that than for the president to announce on the 15th, that in consultation⁸ with senior military commanders, he has decided⁹ to initiate¹⁰ the first step in a withdrawal of our forces," he said.

Warner, who has strongly supported the war effort, said it would be up to the president to decide how many of the more than 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq to withdraw. He said the withdrawal would be a way to press Iraq's government into taking steps toward political reconciliation¹¹.

A White House spokesman says the president is waiting for recommendations from General David Petraeus, the U.S. Commander in Iraq, and the U.S. Ambassador in Iraq, Ryan Crocker. Their report is due by September 15. Congress will be briefed on its contents.

Major General Lynch made his comments one day after a new report by U.S. intelligence agencies said Iraqi forces cannot cope with the current violence without continuing assistance from U.S. troops.

The summary of the National Intelligence Estimate also says any drawdown of U.S. forces from a counterinsurgency role to one of support for Iraqi forces would erode¹² security gains achieved during the current "surge" of U.S. forces in Iraq.

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 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。

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 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

5 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 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。

8 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

11 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。

12 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。