美国立法者强烈要求布什校订对伊政策
US lawmakers(立法者) urge Bush to revise Iraq policy(1)
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Senior members of the US Congress urged(催促) President George W. Bush on Sunday to revise the administration's(行政部门) Iraq policy, two weeks before the midterm congressional(国会的) elections that could bring a change of control over the legislature(立法机关, 立法机构). While Democrats(美国民主党) continued their calls for a new strategy in Iraq, some Republican lawmakers joined their Democratic colleagues in calling the administration for a change in its Iraq policy. Senator Joseph Biden(约瑟), the ranking Democratic member of the Senate(叁议院) Foreign (外交事务委员会)Relations Committee, said there was a need for " radical change" in the Bush administration's policy on Iraq. "The truth of the matter is there's a need for radical(激进的) change in policy," he told the Fox News(福克斯新闻) television.
(2)
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Biden said there was a need for a political(政治的) solution in Iraq and a bipartisan(两党连立的) solution in Washington. "Without those two things happening, there is no possibility, in my view, we succeed in Iraq, " he said. Democratic(民主党) Senator John Kerry, the party's presidential candidate in 2004, told ABC（美国广播公司） television's "This Week" that a political rather than military（军事的） solution was needed for Iraq. He also urged Iraqi Prime Minister（总理） Nuri al-Maliki to give the Iraqi army more authority to improve security（安全）. "It is their job, not the US coalition forces' to subdue and get rid（摆脱） of these private militias," he said.
(3)
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The New York Times reported on Sunday that the United States was drafting(起草) a timetable for the Iraqi government to address sectarian（宗派主义者） divisions and assume（采取） a larger role in securing the country. The plan, which was to be presented to al-Maliki before the end of the year, would not threaten（恐吓, 威胁） Maliki with a withdrawal（撤退） of US troop, the Times said. The plan would for the first time ask the Iraqi government to agree to a schedule of specific milestones, like disarming sectarian militias, and to a broad set of other political, economic and military benchmarks（基准） intended to stabilize the country, the report said.
(4)
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Republican(共和党人) Senator Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was encouraged(被鼓励的) by the reported plan but that the White House should act quickly. "I don't believe that a shift in tactics(战术, 策略) ought to wait until after the election (of November 7). There are too many casualties(人员伤亡) there," he told CNN's "Late Edition" program. "If we have a better course, we ought to adopt it sooner rather than later," he said. The reported plan showed "the forward thinking" of the administration, Republican Senator John Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told "Fox News Sunday."
