VOA常速英语2008年-US Military Says Iran Continues to Help Iraqi I

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
24 March 2008

The U.S. command in Baghdad says Iranian operatives are continuing to provide money, weapons and training to Shiite insurgents² in Iraq, in spite of promises by Iran's leaders that the activity would stop. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

Colonel Steve Boylan, the spokesman for the top U.S. general in Iraq, says analysis of recent attacks, including rockets launched on Baghdad's Green Zone on Sunday, confirm they were carried out by Shiite extremist groups, with the weapons provided recently by Iran.

U.S. officials have said for a long time that operatives of Iran's elite³ Quds Force had been supplying the Shiite insurgents. But in recent months they have said they could not be sure whether the supply was continuing, after top Iranian leaders promised their Iraqi counterparts it would stop.

Now, Colonel Boylan says, intelligence gathered from detainees, and analysis of rocket fragments from this weekend's attack, indicate Iranian officials are not living up to those promises.

"We don't believe they are, based the ordnance⁴ we've been seeing and the types of attacks that have been occurring," he said.

Boylan's comments followed a statement by his boss, General David Petraeus, who told the BBC Monday that Sunday's rocket attack on the Green Zone provided evidence that Iranian operatives continue to fund, train, equip and direct Iraq's Shiite Special Group insurgents. The Special Groups are breakaway factions⁵ of the Mahdi Army, whose leader, Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has declared a ceasefire.

In a VOA interview from Baghdad, the American spokesman, Colonel Boylan, said coalition⁶ forces are working to break the insurgent¹ networks.

"I'm not going to get into exactly how we go after either al-Qaida or the Special Groups or any of the assorted⁷ networks," he said. "But we do have people that are looking for these. It's not surprising that we would be trying to hone in on and take down the networks."

Boylan could not say how significant the Shiite Special Groups are in Iraq's overall insurgency⁸ problem. But officials have said in the past that the groups are a relatively⁹ small but particularly lethal¹⁰ element, largely because of the support they get from Iran, particularly high-technology high-powered roadside bombs.

1 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。

2 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

3 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

4 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

5 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

6 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。

7 assorted   

adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的

参考例句：

• There's a bag of assorted sweets on the table.桌子上有一袋什锦糖果。
• He has always assorted with men of his age.他总是与和他年令相仿的人交往。

8 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

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。