VOA标准英语2008年-Amid Controversy, Obama Reaffirms Iraq Withdraw

Senator Barack Obama, who will formally claim the Democratic Party's presidential nomination¹ next month, has been working to defend and clarify his position on Iraq in recent weeks. The effort, culminating in a column in The New York Times, follows a statement he made July 3 that caused some to believe he was trying to back off of his campaign promise to withdraw nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months, if he is elected president. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Al Pessin looks at Senator Obama's Iraq policy, and the controversy² surrounding it.
　
Sen. Barack Obama speaks during his campaign stop in Fargo, North Dakota, 3 July 2008

It all started with one word - refine. On July 3, Senator Obama told reporters he would "refine" his Iraq policy after visiting the country and talking to U.S. commanders. The immediate³ political firestorm caused by that one word led the senator to convene⁴ another news conference just a few hours later.

"We are going to try this again," said Barack Obama. "Apparently⁵, I was not clear enough this morning."

Senator Obama was eager to reassure⁶ his core supporters on one of his signature issues.

"I would be deliberate and careful in how we got out," he said. "I would bring our troops home at a pace of one-to-two brigades per month. And at that pace we would have our combat troops out in 16 months. That position has not changed. I have not equivocated⁷ on that position. I am not searching for maneuvering⁸ room with respect to that position."

But aside from drawing criticism from Obama's political opponents, that position has caused concern among some potential supporters in the middle of the political spectrum⁹.

Some analysts¹¹ like Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, do not necessarily support the war, but worry that a precipitous U.S. withdrawal¹² could have serious negative consequences for Iraq, the region and U.S. interests.

"I am extremely concerned," said Michael O'Hanlon. "I think there is a lot of what the senator has said that is viable¹³ and reasonable, but that particular drawdown schedule, I think, would put at risk all the hard work and all the progress we have seen. It is just too fast."

O'Hanlon was a strong critic of the Bush Administration's Iraq policy, and a skeptic¹⁴ of the troop surge the president announced a year and a half ago. But after two visits to Iraq since the surge began, O'Hanlon says progress on security and political issues is significant and needs to be protected, allowing for only a slow and careful U.S. withdrawal in the coming months.

"I believe that the next 15 to 18 months in Iraq are a period of considerable difficulty and fragility," he said. "Now that we have seen the surge occur, we should slow down the reductions a bit. We can probably continue to make modest reductions but they should not be at the same pace as they have been because the pace of the last seven months has been a dramatic cutback."

O'Hanlon and other experts point out that the end of the surge later this month will complete a 25-percent reduction in U.S. combat troop strength in Iraq. They argue that it would be dangerous to continue at that pace, and they say senior U.S. commanders agree.

Republican Party candidate Senator John McCain has a similar view, and says he will leave as many U.S. troops in Iraq as necessary, for as long as necessary, to ensure that stability is well established before any major U.S. troop withdrawal.

The man with the key responsibility for recommending future troop levels to President Bush, and to the next president, is the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus. He is just beginning an expected six-week period of assessment¹⁵ that will culminate¹⁶ with his next set of recommendations in September. Petraeus is keeping his thoughts to himself in the meantime.

But one retired¹⁷ general, who works as an adviser¹⁸ to the Iraq commander and to Defense¹⁹ Secretary Robert Gates, says General Petraeus' recommendations will make the Iraq war a much less significant issue in the presidential election campaign.

The adviser, General Jack²⁰ Keane, says he also believes that by early next year, when the next president takes office, Petraeus will be ready to recommend troop withdrawals²¹ that will not be far off what Senator Obama has called for.

"I do not believe we are arguing over very much between what Petraeus can not tell you now and what he would recommend to a new president in January, and what a new president would want to see, be they Republican or Democrat," said General Keane. "We are going to have significant force reduction in 2009 based on military commanders' recommendations, and it will be even more significant in 2010."

That is far from certain. But it would be good news for Senator Obama, who has appeared to be setting himself up for a confrontation²² with senior U.S. military officers, who have been cautious in their troop withdrawal recommendations.

With that in mind, analyst¹⁰ Michael O'Hanlon hopes Senator Obama's coming visit to Iraq will moderate his position.

"I am glad to hear that Senator Obama is going over there in July," said O'Hanlon. "I think that is a critically important decision on his account. And I am encouraged by it. And I would simply say let us all give him a little time to digest what he learns over there and hope that there is a revision to his public position before this fall."

But Senator Obama is doing his best to put an end to such speculation²³, in part through his opinion article in The New York Times, confirming his 16-month withdrawal plan, as he did back on July 3, just after that one word started the confusion over his policy.

"Let me be as clear as I can be.," said Senator Obama. "I intend to end this war. My first day in office I will bring the joint²⁴ chiefs of staff in and I will give them a new mission, and that is to end this war, responsible and deliberately²⁵, but decisively."

Senator Obama says his plan is the only way to pressure Iraqi officials to make needed progress on security and political issues. He makes provision only for what he calls "tactical adjustments" to ensure the withdrawal is safe. And he says that while he does not want a permanent U.S. troop presence in Iraq, he would be willing to keep a relatively²⁶ small counter-terrorism force there for a while, along with trainers for the Iraqi military and enough troops to keep them safe.

The senator does not say exactly how many that would be, but he makes clear they would not be in the lead combat role they have had for the last five years.

　

 

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

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 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。

4 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

7 equivocated   

v.使用模棱两可的话隐瞒真相( equivocate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He had asked her once again about her finances. And again she had equivocated. 他又一次询问她的财务状况，她再次含糊其词。 来自辞典例句

8 maneuvering   

v.移动，用策略( maneuver的现在分词 )；操纵

参考例句：

• This Manstein did, with some brilliant maneuvering under the worse winter conditions. 曼施坦因在最恶劣的严冬条件下，出色地施展了灵活机动的战术，终于完成了任务。 来自辞典例句
• In short, large goals required farsighted policies, not tactical maneuvering. 一句话，大的目标需要有高瞻远瞩的政策，玩弄策略是不行的。 来自辞典例句

9 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

10 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。

11 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。

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 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

14 skeptic   

n.怀疑者，怀疑论者，无神论者

参考例句：

• She is a skeptic about the dangers of global warming.她是全球变暖危险的怀疑论者。
• How am I going to convince this skeptic that she should attention to my research?我将如何使怀疑论者确信她应该关注我的研究呢？

15 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？

16 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

17 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

18 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

19 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。

20 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

21 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

22 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

23 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

24 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

25 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

26 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。