2007年VOA标准英语-Top US General Cites Corruption, Disorganizatio

By Robert Raffaele
Washington, D.C.
13 June 2007
 

U.S. lawmakers got the chance to question the man who recently led the multi-national force in charge of training Iraq's new security and police forces.  U.S. Army Lieutenant¹ General Martin Dempsey told lawmakers in a House subcommittee of numerous frustrations² in logistical and other matters.  VOA's Robert Raffaele has the story.

General Martin Dempsey

With almost daily insurgent³ attacks, Iraq's new security and police forces face difficult on-the-job training. The lack of adequate security has even led U.S. commanders to begin arming Sunni Arab groups once allied⁴ with groups linked to al-Qaida.

Tuesday on Capitol Hill, the man who oversaw⁵ the training of the Iraqi security and police forces for 22 months said Iraq's fledgling security forces simply are not ready to take control from U.S. troops.

"The scarcest resource we've got is not time, it's not money, it's leaders in Iraq,” says U.S. Army Lieutenant General Martin Dempsey. “We are running into a challenge of getting leaders into place that can turn the capacity we've provided into a capability⁶. That's really the challenge."

General Dempsey said one big problem is local corruption⁷.

“Police forces in the region are notably⁸ corrupt,” said Dempsey.  “Police forces live locally, their families live locally, they don't really have a sense of nation, they have a sense of local community and all the influences that are brought to bear." 

Another problem: computer databases that are not linked, and fail to provide up-to-date records. General Dempsey acknowledged that of some 188,000 Iraqi security forces trained by the U.S. as of last December, as many as  seven to eight thousand are unaccounted for. He conceded there is no way of knowing how many of those Iraqis could now be attacking U.S. troops.  General Dempsey said he believes Iraq's national forces will be capable of taking charge of security soon, but he said local forces are not up to the task.

"The Kurdish region is stable, the deep Shia south is stable, al-Anbar is looking promising⁹, but Baghdad, Diyala, Salahuddin, and At-Ta'mim, which is the faultline, they're not stable and the local police are not effective there."

General Dempsey said he is encouraged by what he is says is the Iraqi people's expressed desire to take over security.  But he warned that time may be running out.

"I heard General Abizaid say three years ago, that there would undoubtedly¹⁰ at some point in this mission be a point of descending¹¹ consent -- where the population would either want to be completely in control of their own destinies or begin to blame us for the failures of their government. And I think we have to be alert for that point.  I don't think we're there yet, but we certainly need to keep our eye on that."

1 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

2 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

3 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。

4 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

5 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

6 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

9 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

10 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

11 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。