VOA标准英语2008年-McCain Remains Opposed to Iraq Troop Withdrawal

Republican presidential contender John McCain intends to focus on domestic economic issues this week while his Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama, continues his tour of the Middle East and Europe. But on Monday, McCain was quick to respond to Obama's meeting in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.
　
John McCain, 21 Jul 2008

Senator McCain met with former President George H.W. Bush at Mr. Bush's summer home on the Maine coast.

Afterward¹, McCain was asked about Senator Obama's visit to Iraq and about a comment from an Iraqi government spokesman who said his country hopes all U.S. troops would withdraw from Iraq by 2010. That timeline roughly coincides with Obama's pledge to withdraw most U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office.

McCain was asked if the Iraqi comment about a timeline undercut his message that U.S. forces must stay in Iraq until victory is achieved, without regard to a particular timetable.

"It is based on conditions on the ground and that we have to maintain the progress we have. The major point here is that Senator Obama could not have gone to Iraq as he did because he opposed the surge. It was the surge that succeeded. It was the surge that is winning this war. He opposed it. He said it would not succeed," he said.

McCain has been hammering away at Obama for weeks over the fact that McCain was an early supporter of the Bush administration's military surge strategy in Iraq while Obama opposed it.

McCain also got some support from the White House Monday when presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino said the administration remains² opposed to setting a timetable for withdrawal³, even though officials remain open to discussing what they call a general time horizon for U.S. troops to come home.

"The Iraqis definitely want to take over their own security. We want them to do so as well, but we want to jointly⁴ do it in a way to make sure we do not pull out arbitrarily," he said.
　
Senator Barack Obama listens as General David H. Petraeus discusses security improvements in Baghdad, 21 Jul 2008

During a previous stopover in Afghanistan, Senator Obama told the CBS program Face the Nation he favors pulling some troops out of Iraq soon and shifting them to support the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida in and around Afghanistan.

"There is starting to be a growing consensus⁵ that it is time for us to withdraw some of our combat troops out of Iraq, deploy⁶ them here in Afghanistan and I think we have to seize that opportunity. Now is the time to do it," he said.

Obama supporters hope his international tour will bolster⁷ his foreign policy and national security credentials⁸ with U.S. voters. Recent polls give McCain the edge in those two areas.

For his part, McCain plans to focus on domestic economic concerns this week while Obama is overseas. Public opinion polls show the economy and rising fuel prices are top concerns for U.S. voters as they look ahead to the November election, and Obama leads McCain in poll questions about who would do a better job of handling economic issues.

　

 

1 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

2 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。

3 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。

4 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

5 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

6 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

7 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

8 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。