VOA常速英语2008年-Petraeus Report Means Large US Troop Presence i

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
10 April 2008

In congressional testimony¹ this week, the top U.S. military and civilian² officials in Iraq reported what they called "real" but "fragile" progress, and urged caution in any discussion of further U.S. troop withdrawals³, beyond the end of the surge in July.  VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon on the implications of the reports by General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

General Petraeus said he has recommended a 45-day period of consolidation⁴ after the surge troops leave.  He says only then, in early September, will he be able to even begin to assess whether he can send home more troops.

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Carl Levin, pressed the general on just how long that assessment⁵ will take.

LEVIN:  "Do you have any estimate at all as to how long that second period is going to take?  Could that be a month?  Could that be two months?"

PETRAEUS:  "Sir, it could be less than that."

LEVIN:  "Could it be more than that?"

PETRAEUS:  "It could be more than that.  Again, it's when the conditions are met that we can make a recommendation for further reductions."

LEVIN:  "I understand, but I'm just asking you a direct question.  Could that be as long as three months?"

PETRAEUS:  "It could be, sir."

LEVIN:  "Could it be as long as four months?"

PETRAEUS:  "Sir, it is when the conditions are met."

And no one can say when that will be.  Analyst⁶ Michele Flournoy of the Center for a New American Security, who spent several weeks in Iraq earlier this year, says the general's caution reflects concerns among U.S. commanders throughout the country.

"It tells us that he and his commanders are comfortable with going to 15 brigade combat teams, but they're not comfortable committing to go beyond that," she said.  "And I think that the request for a pause came from the bottom-up, from the various division commanders, and they want a six-week period to kind of see how the dust settles."

By the time that dust settles, Iraq is supposed to be preparing for provincial⁷ elections in October, to be followed in early November by the U.S. presidential election.  Michele Flournoy says that is not a good time for U.S. troop withdrawals that could lead to instability.

"I think this administration is probably not going to go very far down that path," she added.  "I think it's probably going to be left to the next president.  Going into our own transition period, a time between Election Day and Inauguration⁸ Day, it's not a time when you want instability or a crisis in Iraq for a team that's departing or a team that's coming in to deal with right away."

When the surge ends, the United States will have 140,000 troops in Iraq.  And more and more analysts⁹ are predicting that number will not be reduced much, if at all, by the time the new president takes office in January.  General Petraeus' comments this week appear to justify¹⁰ that view.

That means the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq will remain a key issue in the presidential election campaign, and the U.S. military will continue to be strained by repeated, lengthy¹¹ combat deployments.  It also means there won't be many U.S. troops available to add to the coalition¹² force in Afghanistan, which President Bush promised NATO allies his successor would do next year.

Still, in spite of some public opinion polls to the contrary, analyst Brian Darling of the conservative Heritage Foundation says he believes the American people will be willing to support a continued large U.S. troop presence in Iraq.

"The United States can keep 140,000 troops in Iraq as long as progress is being made," he said.  "And I think the American people will accept more time for troops to be in Iraq to allow for the political developments to take effect."

Darling says this week's report by the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, indicates political progress is being made, although slowly.  And analysts say only political accommodation among Iraqi factions¹³ can pave the way for long-term stability.

At the end of a long day of hearings on Tuesday, General Petraeus summed up his view of the situation in Iraq, five years after the U.S.-led invasion and more than a year after he took command and implemented¹⁴ the surge and a new counterinsurgency strategy.

"We haven't turned any corners," he said.  "We haven't seen any lights at the end of a tunnel.  The champagne¹⁵ bottle has been pushed to the back of the refrigerator.  And the progress, while real, is fragile and is reversible."

General Petraeus wants most of the rest of the year, at least, to make the progress stronger and less reversible.  And it will likely be left to his successor, and President Bush's, sometime next year at the earliest, to turn the corner, see the light at the end of the tunnel and take that celebratory bottle of champagne out of the refrigerator.

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

4 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

5 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？

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

8 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

10 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？

11 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

12 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。

13 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

14 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

15 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。