2006年VOA标准英语-US General Says Iranian Forces Do Training in I

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
23 August 2006

A senior U.S. military spokesman says Iranian forces have infiltrated² Iraq to provide training, money and equipment to Shi'ite extremists and fuel their insurgency³. The officer went farther than others have in detailing Iran's alleged⁴ role in Iraq's violence.

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Brigadier General Michael Barbero

U.S. officials frequently criticize Iran for supporting Iraqi Shi'ite extremists. But in the past they have declined to say whether that support includes infiltration⁵ by Iranian forces. At a news conference Wednesday, Brigadier General Michael Barbero made that direct connection.

"I have seen reports of their involvement and presence there as trainers to train these terrorists and extremist groups," he said.

General Barbero, an operations officer on the staff of the top U.S. generals, also says Iran is providing technology to help Iraqi insurgents⁶ build more effective bombs, what the military calls Improvised⁷ Explosive Devices, or IEDs.

"I think it's irrefutable that Iran is responsible for training, funding and equipping some of the [Shi'ite] extremist groups, and also providing advanced IED technology to them," he said. "And there's clear evidence of that."

The bombs are the insurgents' most effective weapons, accounting⁸ for more than half of the more than 2,500 U.S. military deaths in Iraq, and thousands of Iraqi civilian⁹ casualties.

General Barbero says coalition¹⁰ troops have not directly encountered any of the Iranian forces he says have been inside Iraq, and he would not provide any details on the number or specific duties of the Iranians.

Asked what the U.S. military is doing to fight the Iranian influence in Iraq, he said it is mainly a political challenge, but there is at least one thing the military can do.

"Militarily, in the execution of this operation to neutralize¹¹ the [Shi'ite] extremist groups, we'll go a long way to removing their direct influence into the affairs of the sovereign country of Iraq," noted¹² General Barbero.

General Barbaro also criticized Syria for allowing fighters and supplies to flow into Iraq from its territory, but he did not say anything about Syrian forces being involved. He said the coalition is working with Iraq's new government to further improve security along all the country's borders.

The general also spoke¹ about the decision announced Tuesday to activate¹³ up to 2,500 U.S. Marines who are now on reserve status to help in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He says the move will enable commanders to fill jobs in certain military specialties¹⁴ that are running short of personnel because of the two wars. He says all of those called will be within the seven years of combined active and reserve duty for which they originally volunteered.

General Barbero also disputed a reporter's suggestion that the activation¹⁵ indicates things are not going well in Iraq. He says the effort to establish security in Baghdad is having notable success, and that the United States still hopes to be able to reduce its troop presence in Iraq by the end of this year.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 infiltrated   

adj.[医]浸润的v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The headquarters had been infiltrated by enemy spies. 总部混入了敌方特务。
• Many Chinese idioms have infiltrated into the Japanese language. 许多中国成语浸透到日语中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 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

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 infiltration   

n.渗透；下渗；渗滤；入渗

参考例句：

• The police tried to prevent infiltration by drug traffickers. 警方尽力阻止毒品走私分子的潜入。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A loss in volume will occur if infiltration takes place. 如果发生了渗润作用，水量就会减少。 来自辞典例句

6 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

7 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

8 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

9 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

10 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。

11 neutralize   

v.使失效、抵消，使中和

参考例句：

• Nothing could neutralize its good effects.没有什么能抵消它所产生的好影响。
• Acids neutralize alkalis and vice versa.酸能使碱中和碱，亦能使酸中和。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

14 specialties   

n.专门，特性，特别；专业( specialty的名词复数 )；特性；特制品；盖印的契约

参考例句：

• Great Books are popular, not pedantic. They are not written by specialists about specialties for specialists. 名著绝不引经据典，艰深难懂，而是通俗易读。它们不是专家为专业人员撰写的专业书籍。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Brain drains may represent a substantial reduction in some labor force skills and specialties. 智力外流可能表示某种劳动力技能和特长大量减少。 来自辞典例句

15 activation   

n. 激活，催化作用

参考例句：

• A computer controls the activation of an air bag.电脑控制着气囊的启动。