2006年VOA标准英语-US Official: Iraqi PM Nominee is Tough-Min

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
23 April 2006
 

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad addresses a news conference after the Iraqi Parliament session in Baghdad   
  
The U.S. Ambassador to Iraq says the man named to be the new Iraqi prime minister has the reputation of being a strong leader. More importantly, the candidate is acceptable to the country's Kurds and Sunni Arabs - who had opposed the previous nomination¹.

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

The Iraqi political process was deadlocked² over the nomination of interim³ Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to hold this position for four years, in the country's first post-Saddam Hussein government.

But Mr. Jaafari's withdrawal⁴ cleared the way for the naming of Jawad al-Maliki to the post - breaking the political stalemate.

Speaking on CNN's "Late Edition," U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad said Mr. Maliki is someone who can unify⁵ the country. "The problem that Prime Minister Jaafari ran into was that the Kurds and Sunni Arabs rejected him. These two groups have welcomed Mr. Maliki," he said.

The U.S. diplomat⁶ said he believes Mr. Maliki is, in his words, a "tough-minded" patriot⁷ who is not subordinate to regional warlords. He added that he thinks Mr. Maliki is not influenced by Iran, and said he looks forward to working with him. "He has said a number of very positive things since he was nominated, that he will work for all Iraqis, he will put competent, independent, strong team together, that he will deal with the issue of the militias⁸, and that he will also review the issue of how de-Baathification has been carried out," he said.

Khalilzad said he believes continued positive political development could be, in his words, "helpful" in determining how many U.S. troops to keep in Iraq. There are more than 130,000 American soldiers there.

Meanwhile, a new audio tape purported⁹ to be from al-Qaida leader Osama bin¹⁰ Laden¹¹, has once again raised questions about al-Qaida's role in the Iraqi insurgency¹². The U.S. envoy¹³ to Baghdad said he believes the terror network has some influence in Iraq, through Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his group, al-Qaida in Iraq. But he said al-Qaida is far from having total control over Iraq's insurgency. "Well, there is terror and Zarqawi, that has ties to Bin Laden, is the leader of Iraq al-Qaida. Then, there is a different kind of insurgency, some with ties to al-Qaida, some independent of, and some are turning against al-Qaida. So, it is a more complicated picture than Zarqawi, al-Qaida, being the leadership of the insurgency here," he said.

Insurgent¹⁴ attacks across Iraq on Sunday killed at least 11 Iraqis and three U.S. soldiers. Most of the violence occurred in and around Baghdad.

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

3 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

4 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

5 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

6 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

7 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

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 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

11 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

12 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

13 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

14 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。