2007年VOA标准英语-US Defense Secretary Hopes for Deeper Troop Cut

By Meredith Buel
Washington
14 September 2007

Robert Gates

Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates says he hopes U.S. troop levels in Iraq can be cut to about 100,000 by the end of next year, a figure that is well beyond cuts recently approved by President Bush. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel has details from Washington.

Stressing he is expressing his hope, not a Bush administration plan, Secretary Gates told reporters at the Pentagon that conditions in Iraq could improve enough to allow much deeper cuts in troops than are currently scheduled for 2008.

The defense secretary says he hopes U.S. troops can be drawn² down to about 10 combat brigades and support units - or about 100-thousand troops -- by the end of next year.

There are currently about 169-thousand U.S. troops in Iraq and President Bush announced this week he has approved a plan by General David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, to reduce forces from 20 combat brigades to 15 brigades by July of next year.

Secretary Gates says he is hopeful the reductions can continue at about the same pace during the last half of 2008. "General Petraeus made clear that force reductions will continue beyond July, with the pace of continuing reductions dictated³ by conditions on the ground. Further I want to point out that any long-term, residual⁴ U.S. military presence in Iraq, which would have to be negotiated with the Iraqi government, would be a fraction of the size of today's deployed⁵ force," he said.

Secretary Gates says it is too early for General Petraeus, who testified before the U.S. Congress earlier this week, to forecast with confidence any additional cuts in troop strength. Petraeus plans a further assessment⁶ and recommendations next March.

Gates says the stakes in Iraq are too high to withdraw troops any faster than President Bush has approved so far. "The political debate and the debate among historians about this war will go on for a long time. However, the consequences of American failure in Iraq at this point would, I believe, be disastrous⁷ not just for Iraq, but for the region, for the United States and for the world. No discussion of where and how we go from here can avoid this stark⁸ reality," he said.

Democrats⁹ in the U.S. Senate are planning to hold votes next week on a series of proposals that could change the course of the war.

One measure would limit American troops to training Iraqi forces, securing the country's borders and fighting terrorist insurgents¹⁰. Another proposal would make sure that soldiers returning from Iraq would stay home for at least the same amount of time as their latest deployment¹¹ before returning to the battlefield.

Secretary Gates opposes those ideas, saying they could increase the danger for troops in Iraq. "As well intentioned as many of these proposals are, I think the reality is they become very difficult for us to manage and end up imposing¹² some real hardships, not only on our forces but also potentially impacting combat effectiveness and risk," he said.

Secretary Gates is expected to discuss troop deployments and funding for the war during an appearance on Capitol Hill next week.

1 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。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 dictated   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• He dictated a letter to his secretary. 他向秘书口授信稿。
• No person of a strong character likes to be dictated to. 没有一个个性强的人愿受人使唤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 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？

7 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

8 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。