VOA标准英语2008年-Gates Hails 'Hero of the Hour' as Petraeus Prep

The top U.S. commander in Iraq will leave his post Tuesday after a momentous¹ year and a half, during which he is credited with reversing a spiral of violence that seemed destined² to plunge³ the country into civil war. From Baghdad, VOA's Al Pessin reports on the legacy⁴ General David Petraeus will leave behind.
　
General David Petraeus prepares to testify before Senate Armed Forces Committee, 08 Apr 2008

In February of last year, when General Petraeus arrived in Iraq, 81 U.S. troops were killed here. The number rose to a high of 126 in May, as more troops poured in and the general ordered them out into Iraqi villages and neighborhoods to engage a variety of insurgent⁵ groups. These days, the U.S. monthly casualty toll⁶ here averages about 20. And there has been a parallel reduction in Iraqi deaths, along with an 85 percent cut in overall violence.

En route to Iraq to preside over General Petraeus' change-of-command ceremony, U.S. Defense⁷ Secretary Robert Gates was lavish⁸ in his praise of the general's role in what he called the "turnaround" in Iraq.

"I think he's played a historic role. There's just no two ways about. We've lost a lot of lives, but it's really been an extraordinary effort of a translation of a great strategy into a great success in a very difficult circumstance," said Gates. "General Petraeus is clearly the hero of the hour, but I think all of us would say there are an awful lot of heroes working for him that have actually made this happen."

Analysts¹⁰ across the political spectrum¹¹ also credit General Petraeus for taking the leading role in the Iraq turnaround. "He took a war that was clearly being lost and turned it around," said retired¹² U.S. Army Lieutenant¹³ Colonel John Nagl. "If I were writing a book on General Petraeus' service over the last 18 months, I would call it 'Turnaround.'"

Nagl served in Iraq earlier in the war and is now an analyst⁹ at the Center for a New American Security in Washington. "His own role, his own vision, his own drive, his own understanding of counterinsurgency led him to implement¹⁴ a new strategy," he said. "He understood that the key to success in any counterinsurgency campaign is protecting the population. That comes first."

It was General Petraeus' first two tours of duty in Iraq that led him to believe a new strategy was needed. In 2006, while running the Army's main analytical¹⁵ center, he ordered the writing of a new counterinsurgency doctrine¹⁶. In early 2007, with violence in Iraq seeming to spin out of control, President Bush ordered General Petraeus to take his new doctrine and put it to work.

Another expert who has become a fan of General Petraeus is Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, an early skeptic¹⁷ of the new strategy and the troop surge that went with it. "We have to start by saying it's simply remarkable," said O'Hanlon.. "It's the latest, greatest comeback in American military history, perhaps since the Civil War."

At Boston University, Andrew Bacevich also credits General Petraeus with helping¹⁸ to avoid defeat in Iraq. But he is not sure just how much of the credit the general himself deserves.

"I think it's a question about which historians will argue," said Bacevich. "The surge itself, in terms of an additional increment¹⁹ of 30,000 or so U.S. troops, probably was not decisive. More important, probably, was the change in tactics, or doctrine, that Petraeus introduced."

Bacevich says Petraeus was good, but also lucky, with the cease-fire declared by the main Shiite militia²⁰, and the change of allegiance among Sunni tribal²¹ leaders from al-Qaida insurgents²² to the new Iraqi government. And, Bacevich says, the success of the overall strategy behind the surge is still in question.

"As I understand the logic²³ of the surge, it was to reduce the level of violence, in order to facilitate a political reconciliation²⁴ among Iraqis," he said. "The violence has subsided²⁵ to a degree, a significant degree. But I, myself, don't see that this political reconciliation, and, therefore, the end of U.S. involvement, is going to happen anytime soon."

As General Petraeus flies out of Iraq he knows it will not be long until he comes back. His new job is chief of U.S. Central Command, with responsibility for all U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

So, the next question for analysts like Michael O'Hanlon is whether the general can transfer his success from Iraq to Afghanistan, where violence has been increasing.

"If only it were that easy. We're not going to have the capabilities²⁶ in Afghanistan that we have in Iraq. The Afghan army is much smaller than the Iraqi army and much less well developed," he said. "The U.S. is not going to have the capacity to surge in Afghanistan nearly to the extent that it did in Iraq. And then the sanctuary²⁷ provided by Pakistan makes the situation much more complicated. Afghanistan is actually in some ways a harder problem at this point."

Still, John Nagl says there are some key lessons from General Petraeus' counterinsurgency doctrine, and his success in Iraq that he should be able to apply to Afghanistan.

"The principles of counterinsurgency that General Petraeus employed so effectively in Iraq, in fact, have much to teach us about a better approach to the war in Afghanistan, which is not going well. Perhaps, the most important of those lessons is the absolute necessity to create security on the ground. And, the only way to do that in a lasting²⁸ way is to put ground troops in," said Nagl. "So, we need to bring more troops onto the ground; we need a surge for Afghanistan, absolutely, of several brigades. And I expect and I hope to see that in 2009."

President Bush announced what some see as the first installment²⁹ of the Afghanistan surge last week, but with other units scheduled to depart, it only amounts to about 1,500 troops, and not until February. Officials say gains in Iraq are still fragile, so they cannot shift resources to Afghanistan too quickly. If the situation continues to improve in Iraq, General Petraeus may get at least some of the additional troops he needs for Afghanistan, but not until well into next year. And that will depend on decisions made by the new U.S. president, who has not even been elected yet.

As if the war in Iraq were not a complex enough challenge, General Petraeus will now have to balance continuing needs here with his new responsibilities in Afghanistan, concerns about insurgent and terrorist safe havens³⁰ in Pakistan and the policies of a new commander-in-chief back in Washington.

 

1 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

2 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

3 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

6 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

7 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。

8 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

14 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

15 analytical   

adj.分析的；用分析法的

参考例句：

• I have an analytical approach to every survey.对每项调查我都采用分析方法。
• As a result,analytical data obtained by analysts were often in disagreement.结果各个分析家所得的分析数据常常不一致。

16 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

17 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？

18 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

19 increment   

n.增值，增价；提薪，增加工资

参考例句：

• Each increment of knowledge tells us more of our world.知识的点滴增长都会增进我们对世界的认知。
• She receives a salary increment each year.她每年得到加薪。

20 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

21 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

22 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

23 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

24 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。

25 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

26 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

27 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

28 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

29 installment   

n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期

参考例句：

• I shall soon pay the last installment of my debt.不久我将偿付我的最后一期债款。
• He likes to buy things on the installment plan.他喜欢用分期付款法购买货物。

30 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网