在线英语听力室

2006年VOA标准英语-Challenges in Iraq Far from Over

时间:2007-03-16 16:00:00

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号:tingroom,领取免费英语资料大礼包。

(单词翻译)

By Peter Fedynsky
Washington
15 March 2006

Three years ago, President Bush ordered coalition1 forces to invade Iraq to free its people and to act on intelligence that indicated its dictator had weapons of mass destruction, which threatened global security.  At the time, Mr. Bush noted2 that the campaign to liberate3 the country could be long and difficult. 

As part of a VOA's series marking the third anniversary of the invasion, reporter Peter Fedynsky examines the difficulties and benefits it has brought to Iraq.

------------------------------------------------------

 
Saddam Hussein argues with chief judge while testifying during his trial in Baghdad
  

The Iraqi people today are free of dictator Saddam Hussein.  But the country, apparently4, did not have any weapons of mass destruction.

Today, President Bush says the military objective is to protect American security by turning Iraq into a democracy.  More than 2,500 coalition troops, all but about 200 of them Americans, have died for that cause. 

Most were killed by an enemy that President Bush describes as brutal5 terrorists and insurgents6 who hate freedom.   And Iraqi casualties are estimated as high as 32,000.

 
George Bush 
  
"But that brutality7 has not stopped the dramatic progress of a new democracy. In less than three years, the nation has gone from dictatorship to liberation, to sovereignty, to a constitution, to national elections," said Mr. Bush.

Despite these changes, the commander of coalition forces, General Michael Casey, says this is a difficult time in Iraq.

"We all should be clear that Iraqis remain under threat of terrorist attack by those who will stop at nothing to undermine the formation of the constitutionally-elected government," he said.

That government was voted upon in two national elections held in Iraq in January and December 2005. 

The democratic principle of majority rule has shifted influence from Iraq's minority Sunni Arabs, who held power in the region for centuries, to the majority Shiites.  James Jeffrey, senior advisor9 to the U.S. Secretary of State and Coordinator10 for Iraq Policy, says this is proper.

"What is happening right now is considerable jockeying for positions, be it the prime minister, be it other key ministerial positions among the various groups," he said.  "Of importance is, all of the groups, including the Sunni Arabs, are participating in this informal, but very active, and I think very positive negotiations11."

Jeffrey notes that northern and southern Iraq are relatively12 peaceful.  However, he acknowledges that in central Iraq, Sunni elements opposed to the government are sabotaging13 the area's water, electric, and telephone infrastructure14 in order to make the country ungovernable.  They are also striking at U.S. forces that are trying to rebuild the infrastructure.  In addition, Sunni and Shia extremists are attacking each other's mosques15 in hostilities16 that are bordering on civil war.  Increasing the turmoil17 are foreign jihadists, who have come to Iraq to kill Americans.  


John Murtha   
  
Many U.S. critics of the war contend that Iraqis now see Americans not as liberators, but occupiers.  Among them, Congressman18 Jack19 Murtha, an opposition20 Democrat8 from Pennsylvania who initially21 supported the effort.

"So there is no way you can win a war when you have lost not only the hearts and minds of the people, but when you have become their enemy," he said.

The Bush administration says the U.S. military will leave when Iraq's own forces can secure the country's fledgling democracy.  However, the Pentagon last month downgraded the only Iraqi battalion22 capable of independent combat to a level requiring them to fight with American support.  And U.S. Army veteran Garrett Reppenhagen, a former specialist and sniper in Iraq, questions the commitment of Iraqi soldiers.

"They don't really want to do the job because they are supporting democracy in Iraq or they believe in these high ideals.  They're doing it for economic reasons," he explained.  "So when the going gets tough, and they're getting shot at, a lot of times they'll disappear, they'll just leave if they are threatened."

In a letter to President Bush last month, Congressman Murtha noted that the Iraq war is costing more than $1 billion a week.  Murtha also urged the reallocation of those funds to protect America's security and global image.  The president, however, says that abandoning Iraq would create a power vacuum, which would be filled by forces bent23 on attacking the United States.


分享到:

Error Warning!

出错了

Error page: /mobile/?aid=31509&mid=3
Error infos: Got error 28 from storage engine
Error sql: select `l`.`tag`,`l`.`index`,`l`.`level_id`,`b`.`id`,`b`.`word`,`b`.`spell`,`b`.`explain`,`b`.`sentence`,`b`.`src` from `new_wordtaglist` `l` left join `new_word_base` `b` on `l`.`tag`=`b`.`word` where `l`.`arc_id`='31509' and `l`.`level_id`>='' group by `b`.`word` order by `l`.`index` asc

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。