美国国家公共电台 NPR--Where does Iraq stand now — 20 years after the U.S. invasion?

Where does Iraq stand now — 20 years after the U.S. invasion?

Transcript¹

Baghdad is relatively² safe as it marks 20 years since the start of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It's still a nervous city that's known periodic cycles of violence and an ongoing³ lack of basic services.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Twenty years ago today, the U.S. bypassed the United Nations and began its invasion of Iraq - a sovereign nation. The pretext⁴ for that war was that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. It was a false premise⁵. What began with airstrikes three weeks later toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein. Then came the U.S. occupation and years of overlapping⁶ conflicts - first an insurgency⁷, then a sectarian civil war, then an ISIS takeover of much of the country. About 4,600 American troops died, and at least 270,000 Iraqis were killed. Most of the dead were civilians⁸, and millions of Iraqis are still displaced. On the anniversary of the day it all started, NPR's Ruth Sherlock joins us with the view from Baghdad. Hi, Ruth.

RUTH SHERLOCK, BYLINE⁹: Hi.

FADEL: So, Ruth, how are Iraqis reflecting on this day - this anniversary?

SHERLOCK: Well, you know, Leila, I'm in Firdos Square now which you might remember is where...

FADEL: Yeah.

SHERLOCK: ...The statue of Saddam Hussein was famously torn down in the days after the invasion. Now there's big fountains behind me and palm trees, but there's not much going on to mark the anniversary. You know, for lots of Iraqis, this is a pretty muted or sad day. I spoke¹⁰ with one couple who was walking home across the square with these giant bunches of flowers because the woman, Zainab, had just graduated from Baghdad University. Her husband, Mazen Hussein, was actually in the square when the Saddam statue fell.

MAZEN HUSSEIN: (Speaking Arabic).

SHERLOCK: He said, "you know, Saddam ruled for 35 years. And in just a matter of days, he was removed from power." He says it was overwhelming. He was 12 at the time and felt very, very afraid.

FADEL: Right.

SHERLOCK: And he and his wife, like many people here, did not support the invasion. And lots of Iraqis I've spoken with in these last few days feel that the invasion set Iraq on this kind of path to destruction with all the sectarian wars that followed. Some people I've spoken to say, you know, they'll mark today by remembering the loved ones that have been killed these years.

FADEL: You know, the last time I was in Baghdad was probably over a decade ago now, and it was a city of towering blast walls separating neighborhoods. Car bombs were still pretty common. What's it like today?

SHERLOCK: Well, you know, it is generally better. Those blast walls you mentioned, there are fewer of those. Some of the checkpoints have been removed. And at nighttime, there's music spilling out onto the streets from restaurants and bars. But, you know, life is still really hard for Iraqis in general. There is a - still a security situation, some attacks by ISIS, roadside bombs and militia¹¹ violence, but also almost worse for many people in their daily lives is the fact that the health care system, the education system here, is crumbling¹². Even things like electricity are sporadic¹³. So, you know, life remains¹⁴ really hard. And one of the things I think is telling is that lots of the young people I speak to here, some of them are politically active, trying to have - hold protests for better governance, but also they'll say, you know, if they had the chance, they would leave this country.

FADEL: Now, Ruth, you also went to Fallujah, the scene of some big U.S. battles. What did your trip there say about where Iraq is today?

SHERLOCK: Well, you know, listeners might find it surprising because Fallujah looks pretty great these days. There's these really big construction projects around. I spoke to one Iraqi investor¹⁵ who's putting, you know, almost $30 million of his own money into a luxury housing project there. I also met Souad Mikki. She teaches English at a school there, and I asked her about the future.

SOUAD MIKKI: I hope it will be better. I hope. I hope it will be better.

SHERLOCK: Do you feel like it will be better, or you don't have trust in the future?

MIKKI: No. I don't trust the future, but I hope - not trust.

SHERLOCK: You know, after the U.S. invasion, this city was then taken over by ISIS, and then there was a war to oust¹⁶ them. So it's hard for people to enjoy the stability and feel secure about the future. Even that investor I mentioned, he said he's committing this money because as a former soldier, he's not against taking risks.

FADEL: NPR's Ruth Sherlock in Baghdad. Thank you so much.

SHERLOCK: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

5 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

6 overlapping   

adj./n.交迭（的）

参考例句：

• There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
• A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。

7 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 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。

12 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

13 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

14 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。

15 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

16 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。