2007年VOA标准英语-US Military: Murders Declining in Iraq But Car

By Margaret Besheer
Baghdad
04 April 2007

U.S. military officials say sectarian murders have decreased in Baghdad since a joint¹ U.S.-Iraqi security plan was launched in mid-February, but high-profile car bombings in and around the capital continue to be a concern.  From Baghdad, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

U.S. military spokesman, Major General William Caldwell, told reporters at a news conference Wednesday that the overall death toll² in Baghdad has dropped, but that countrywide the casualty rate has not decreased as much as they had hoped.

He attributed this to a series of suicide truck bombings targeting police and civilians³ in recent weeks that have killed and injured hundreds of Iraqis.

"There are encouraging signs more people are buying into restraint instead of retribution," Caldwell says. "However, we continue to be extremely concerned about the enemy's tactic⁴ of using high-profile car bomb attacks to massacre⁵ innocent civilians."

General Caldwell said al-Qaida in Iraq is responsible for many of those attacks, as it tries to "ignite a cycle of tit-for-tat violence" by provoking retribution attacks.

Iraqi medics treat a wounded man at a hospital in Kirkuk, 4 Apr 2007

But he said the new security operation is having a positive effect.

"This increased presence and increased cooperation is helping⁶ to bring down the levels of sectarian violence," Caldwell says. "In March, we tracked a 26 percent decline from February."

He added that about 10,000 of the 28,000 U.S. soldiers who are taking part in the new security plan have arrived in Iraq, and the rest of them will be here by June first.

Meanwhile, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh acknowledged the spread of violence to other parts of the country and said security operations would expand.

Without going into details, Dabbagh said new security operations were launched Tuesday in the northern city of Mosul, where terrorists have tried to use the city as a safe haven⁷.

Citing some measure of progress, Dabbagh said not only was the Iraqi government reducing the hours of Baghdad's curfew, but that in some neighborhoods cement barriers would be removed.

He also announced that another of Iraq's 18 provinces will be turned over to Iraqi control.  The Maysan province, in southeastern Iraq, will be transferred to the Iraqis in May.

In a separate development, General Caldwell addressed news reports that an Iranian envoy⁸ would be allowed to see five Iranians who were detained in January in the northern Kurdish controlled city of Irbil.

"What has occurred so far is that the International Committee of the Red Cross has in fact visited with those five people that are in detention," Caldwell says. "Among them was an Iranian who was a member of that delegation⁹. Thus far what we have is an informal request for a consular¹⁰ visit and that is being assessed at this time."
 
The United States accuses the five of having links to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard network that was supplying funds and weapons to insurgents¹¹ in Iraq.

1 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。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

5 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

8 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。

9 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

10 consular   

a.领事的

参考例句：

• He has rounded out twenty years in the consular service. 他在领事馆工作已整整20年了。
• Consular invoices are declarations made at the consulate of the importing country. 领事发票是进口国领事馆签发的一种申报书。

11 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