2006年VOA标准英语-Khalilzad Downplays Washington-Baghdad Dispute

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
29 October 2006

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq is downplaying reports of an apparent dispute between Washington and Baghdad. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Washington, where officials deny the United States is trying to tell the Iraqi government what to do.

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The United States and Iraq appeared to be at odds¹ last week, over when and how Iraq would make political reforms and quell² rising sectarian violence.

U.S. officials had made statements that many Iraqis had interpreted as Washington's efforts to exert pressure on the Iraqi government. In response, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said no outside power can decide his government's agenda.

Efforts by Washington and Baghdad to mend relations and show a united face to the world culminated³ in a joint⁴ statement Saturday by President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki. Both sides agreed to speed up the training of Iraqi forces, in order to accelerate Iraq's ability to take over responsibility for its own security.

Zalmay Khalilzad  (file photo)   
  
Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad downplayed the dispute, and told CNN's Late Edition it is caused by a misunderstanding.

"I think that was not a real issue," he said. "That was a problem in how what I said was interpreted or translated to him, and how it was played by some of the media here. What he understood, as it was explained to him, was that I had determined⁵ what issues and by when the Iraqis had to decide."

Khalilzad stressed that the United States is not trying to tell Iraq what to do.

"What I had in fact said, as you played it, was, that the Iraqis had decided⁶ on some goals and timelines for achieving those goals, not that I had determined those and was announcing them for the prime minister to implement," he said.

 
Nouri al-Maliki  
  
On Saturday, President Bush reaffirmed his support for Prime Minister Maliki. This viewpoint was echoed on CNN by Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Senator Richard Lugar.

"Well, he [Maliki] is the prime minister," he said. "I think, we want to stay away from judgments⁷ about whether the prime minister is competent, or not. He is the prime minister. And, we are going to take for granted what he is saying, that he will make those decisions, with his people."

Meanwhile, the U.S. military says coalition⁸ forces have killed 17 militants⁹ near the town of Balad, north of Baghdad. Police in the Iraqi capital also found the bodies of 25 people, who had been tortured and killed by sectarian death squads¹⁰, and gunmen in Baghdad killed two policemen.

Near the southern city of Basra, Iraqi police say gunmen ambushed¹¹ a minibus carrying police translators and trainers from a police academy, killing¹² 17 people.

The U.S. ambassador acknowledged that, in terms of violence, Baghdad has gone through what he characterized as "a very, very difficult period" in recent months. But he added there have been many positive developments in other parts of Iraq, including increases in agricultural production and electricity.

1 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

2 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

3 culminated   

v.达到极点( culminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• a gun battle which culminated in the death of two police officers 一场造成两名警察死亡的枪战
• The gala culminated in a firework display. 晚会以大放烟火告终。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

10 squads   

n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍

参考例句：

• Anti-riot squads were called out to deal with the situation. 防暴队奉命出动以对付这一局势。 来自辞典例句
• Three squads constitute a platoon. 三个班组成一个排。 来自辞典例句

11 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。