2006年VOA标准英语-Iraq's Government in Crisis Over Maliki-Bush Me

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil, Iraq
29 November 2006

The government of Iraq's embattled prime minister suffered another blow Wednesday when legislators and cabinet members loyal to an anti-American Shi'ite cleric suspended their participation¹ to protest his meeting with President Bush. From northern Iraq, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more on the unfolding crisis.

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Five Shi'ite Muslim cabinet members and 30 legislators loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr threatened to pull support from the government if Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki went to the Jordanian capital to meet with President Bush.

 
Nouri al-Maliki arrives at the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan, 20 Nov. 29, 2006 
A few hours after Mr. Maliki arrived in Amman, lawmakers from the movement handed out a statement at their Sadr City headquarters confirming the boycott² and saying they consider the visit a provocation³.

Sadr loyalists make up a large bloc⁴ of support for Mr. Maliki, and if they formally withdraw from the government it could collapse⁵.

The radical⁶ cleric also heads the Mehdi militia⁷, which is believed to have some 60,000 fighters. Mr. Maliki has come under intense criticism for not cracking down on illegal militias⁸, such as Sadr's.

Upon his arrival in Amman, Prime Minister Maliki did not mention the brewing⁹ political crisis at home.

Instead, he sounded a positive note, saying the United States is Iraq's partner and they are working on a new strategy to fix the security situation. Mr. Maliki said Iraq still required a lot of assistance from the Americans, especially in training its own security forces.

But the prime minister's optimistic comments were in marked contrast to the tone of a classified memo¹⁰ from White House National Security Advisor¹¹ Stephen Hadley. The memorandum¹², which was leaked to The New York Times, expresses doubts that Prime Minister Maliki has the capacity to control the violence in Iraq.

The memo is quoted as saying the violence in Iraq suggests that Mr. Maliki is "either ignorant of what is going on, misrepresenting his intentions, or his capabilities¹³ are not yet sufficient to turn his intentions into action."

 
Iraqi security forces inspect a damaged vehicle following assassination¹⁴ attempt on Gov. Abdul Rahman Mustafa in Kirkuk, 28 Nov 2006
Meanwhile, the violence continues.

In the religiously mixed Diyala province, northwest of Baghdad, the U.S. military said it killed eight suspected insurgents¹⁵ believed to be running a terrorist cell. Two Iraqi women were also found among the dead.

Clashes were also reported in the volatile¹⁶ western province of al-Anbar, where the U.S. military said one American soldier was killed.

Baghdad was not quiet either, with gunfire and explosions heard around the city. But it did not stop the genocide trial of former dictator Saddam Hussein and six of his lieutenants¹⁷ from continuing.

In the heavily protected Green Zone, forensic¹⁸ and medical experts testified for a second day about the deaths of an estimated 180,000 Kurds at the hands of the Iraqi military in 1988.

 
Saddam Hussein, foreground, along with co-defendant Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, center, and Taher Tawfiq al-Ani, background, 29 Nov. 2006 
One expert witness, Dr. Asfandiar Shukri, told the court that during a series of examinations in 1991 of Kurdish refugees near the Turkish border, he had determined¹⁹ that mustard gas had been used against them.

"I personally examined the patient," he said. "She had Grade 2 asthma²⁰ or difficulty breathing. She had a lot of scarring on her upper chest [that] followed the same geographic²¹ pattern of mustard gas."

All seven co-defendants face the death penalty if they are found guilty.

1 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

2 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

3 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

4 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

7 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。

8 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

9 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

10 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

11 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

12 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

13 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

14 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

15 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

16 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

17 lieutenants   

n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员

参考例句：

• In the army, lieutenants are subordinate to captains. 在陆军中，中尉是上尉的下级。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lieutenants now cap at 1.5 from 1. Recon at 1. 中尉现在由1人口增加的1.5人口。侦查小组成员为1人口。 来自互联网

18 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

19 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。

20 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

21 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法