2006年VOA标准英语-US General: Delay in Key Iraqi Ministries

By Al Pessin
Washington
23 May 2006

A senior U.S. military officer says the delay in appointing new Iraqi Defense¹ and Interior ministers will have an effect on efforts to withdraw significant numbers of U.S. troops from the country this year. But the officer says the main factor will be the security situation, rather than political developments.

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Brig. Gen. Carter Ham (file photo)   
  

Brigadier General Carter Ham, who works on regional conflicts for the Joint² Chiefs of Staff, says the delay in naming ministers of defense and interior will have an impact because those ministries³ have the most direct involvement in issues that affect security. The Defense Ministry⁴ controls the army and the Interior Ministry handles the police. "For us from the security standpoint, those are the two key ministries, and having stability, having responsible, capable leaders in those ministries is clearly beneficial to everyone," he said.

Senior U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, have said it is crucial for Iraq to have ministers of defense and interior who are competent, and who govern from the center, rather than advocating the interests of any one ethnic⁵ or political group. Senior officials have also spoken of the importance of building competence⁶ at all levels of the two ministries, in order to provide the support the armed forces need. On Tuesday, General Ham said the development in the ministries needs to parallel the development of the security forces themselves. "You need that same kind of effort and improvement at the ministerial level. (It's a) little difficult to do while there is still some uncertainty⁷ as to leader of each of those ministries will be," he said.

Senior U.S. and Iraqi officials have expressed the desire for as many as 25 per cent of the 133,000 U.S. troops in Iraq to leave by the end of the year. But U.S. officials say there is no timetable and troop levels will be determined⁸ by the security situation and related factors. The U.S. commander in Iraq is expected to make his next recommendations on troop levels by mid-June.

On Tuesday, General Ham also identified the Iraqi city of Ramadi as the current focus of much of the conflict between U.S.-led forces and insurgents⁹. He said the insurgents want to establish a base in the area, in order to have easy access to the Syrian border to the west and Baghdad to the east. "Well, Ramadi is a tough area, probably the most contentious¹⁰ city right now inside Iraq. I think that's not an overstatement. It's a tough place right now," he said.

He said U.S. forces in Ramadi have frequent clashes with insurgents, and they have not yet been able to give Iraqi forces a leading role in the city, as they have in the surrounding areas.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 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。

3 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

8 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。

9 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

10 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。