VOA常速英语2008年-US Commander in Iraq Says Surge Working, But Pr

By Robert Raffaele
Washington
05 March 2008
 

The top U.S. military commander in Iraq says there is progress in Iraq, but political reconciliation¹ is still necessary to bring together the various segments of Iraqi society.  VOA's Nazzy Beglari spoke² to General David Petraeus just weeks before he is scheduled to give the U.S. Congress an update on the situation in Iraq.  VOA's Robert Raffaele has more.

General David Petraeus says the so-called "surge" of U.S. troops in Iraq has helped reduce violence across the country.

Petraeus also acknowledged that the outcome of Iraq's political and economic struggles is still unclear.

"Nothing is easy here. Progress is difficult to achieve and it is difficult to sustain and build on. There has been progress. We are intent on trying to build on it, to try to cement some of the gains, because so far, they are tenuous³ and fragile," he said.

General Petraeus said many key national political reconciliation issues still must be resolved for Iraq to move forward.

He applauded the recent decision by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to extend a cease-fire by six months between his Mahdi Army militia⁴ and U.S. and Iraqi forces.

U.S. officials have said the cease-fire has been an important element in reducing violence in Iraq by 60 percent since June.

General Petraeus and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, are scheduled to appear again before the U.S. Congress in April (8th and 9th) to give their latest assessment⁵ of the situation on the ground.

1 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。

2 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。

3 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。

4 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

5 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？