2007年VOA标准英语-US Commander Calls Political Interference in Ir

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
03 May 2007

The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East has expressed concern about a new Iraqi government office that has been accused of interfering¹ in the operations of the Iraqi military, as it tries to implement² the Baghdad security plan. Admiral William Fallon spoke³ in Washington Thursday to the Senate's Armed Services Committee. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

Admiral William Fallon, commander testifies before Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, 03 May 2007

Admiral Fallon says the integrity of the Iraqi army chain of command is important for the military's effectiveness, and also to the effort to build confidence among the Iraqi people.

He responded to a senator's question about reports that a new office in the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government has fired some military officers who have been effective in fighting Shiite militias⁴.

"The reports that this Office of the Commander in Chief is in fact working behind the scenes to set up a parallel organization to the Ministry⁵ of Defense⁶ is disturbing." he said.

Admiral Fallon says he and other senior U.S. officials are making their concerns known to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

"It's our intent to make clear to the prime minister that this kind of an operation would be severely⁷ degrading to any attempt to move forward," he said.

Fallon said the security plan and the U.S. troop surge are having an impact, and that improved security is important to enable Iraqi leaders to take difficult steps toward reconciliation⁸.

He said those steps, such as oil revenue sharing and easing de-Baathification, are essential to convince Iraqi Sunnis to support the government, not al-Qaida terrorists, who have carried out a series of dramatic bombings in recent weeks resulting in hundreds of deaths.

"The Shia have not responded in a major retaliatory⁹ way to these big attacks," said Admiral Fallon. "We literally¹⁰ hold our breath. I think one of the reasons is the prime minister, in his leadership, trying to keep this tamped¹¹ down."

"We need to convince him that taking steps to give some sense of inclusion to the Sunnis so they will then lessen¹² their support, passive or otherwise, for al-Qaida would be the biggest and most important thing that could happen in the political realm in this country," he continued.

Admiral Fallon also said the al-Qaida attacks provide justification¹³ for some Shiite factions¹⁴ in the government to refuse to compromise with Sunni groups, and to maintain their militias in case sectarian violence gets worse.

He says he has also encouraged Sunni leaders in other Middle Eastern countries to support Iraq's Shiite-led government and promote Iraqi reconciliation through efforts like the international conference that is underway in Egypt.

Admiral Fallon acknowledged that the Iraqi government is behind in implementing¹⁵ the reconciliation timeline it set for itself last year. But the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Democrat¹⁶ Carl Levin, criticized the admiral for not being tough enough on the Iraqi government about missing its own goals.

"If you are unable to tell them that they haven't met their previous commitments, and that's what you're so reluctant to say, your message is hollow, I believe, unless you can at least state the historic facts, as well as what they need to do, and I believe on top of that there will be consequences if they don't in terms of our response and our behavior," he said.

Admiral Fallon said it is important to be balanced in comments to Iraqi leaders, and that they understand time is short and there will be consequences if they do not do what is necessary to reduce the motivations and capabilities¹⁷ of people involved in the violence.

1 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

2 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

3 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。

4 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

5 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。

6 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。

7 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

8 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

9 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

11 tamped   

v.捣固( tamp的过去式和过去分词 )；填充；（用炮泥）封炮眼口；夯实

参考例句：

• The poets, once so praised, are tamped unceremoniously together in our textbooks, in one curt chapter. 那些名噪一时的诗人，在今天的教科书里，已被毫不客气地挤在一起，列为短短的一章。 来自辞典例句
• They tamped down the earth around the apple tree. 他们把苹果树周围的泥土夯实。 来自互联网

12 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

13 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

14 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

15 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

16 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

17 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