VOA标准英语2009年-Envoy Says US on Track for 2010 Combat For

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill, says the United States remains¹ on track to withdraw all of its combat forces by August of next year. Lawmakers on the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Relations and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee asked Hill about the schedule and the upsurge in violence in Iraq.
　
Christopher Hill (file photo)

Appearing first before the House panel, Ambassador Hill said bomb attacks in Iraq are an effort to undermine the Iraqi people at a time U.S. forces are gradually withdrawing under a timetable established by President Obama.

"The violence represents an effort to undermine Iraqi authorities, to undermine them at a time when it is widely understood that U.S. forces are beginning a departure. I think what is important is that the Iraqi authorities and the Iraqi people have understood that they cannot let them [i.e., the insurgents²] to get away with this," he said.

President Obama has ordered all U.S. combat forces out of Iraq by August of next year. And all U.S. forces, including support troops, are to be out by the end of 2011 under a separate agreement that was reached between the Iraqi government and the Bush administration.

But lawmakers as well as American military commanders are concerned by violence in Iraq, particularly about the possibility that tensions between Arabs and Kurds could expand into widespread violence.

"What are the prospects³ that there will be a serious outbreak of hostilities⁴ between Arabs and Kurds? Are growing Kurdish-Arab tensions the biggest threat to Iraqi stability?," he said.

Ambassador Hill said the U.S. commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, is working with the Baghdad government and the Kurdish regional government on steps to maintain stability in the north, including a proposal for a joint⁵ patrol system involving Iraqi government troops, Kurdish forces, and U.S. troops.

Hill said Iran continues to have a "very malevolent⁶ relationship" with Iraq, including meddling⁷ in Iraq's internal politics and supplying weapons to insurgents. "There is no question that Iran and Iraq should have a longstanding relationship, they are after all neighbors. But I think Iran needs to do a much better job of respecting Iraq's sovereignty and they should start by ceasing to provide weaponry to various extremist groups in Iraq," he said.

Looking ahead to parliamentary elections in Iraq in January, Georgia Democrat⁸ David Scott and Ambassador Hill had this exchange about the question of a possible referendum on the U.S. military presence in Iraq.

SCOTT: "Do you foresee any circumstances in which the Iraqi government will ask the U.S. and ask the president of the U.S. to review his scheduled deployment⁹ of troops out of Iraq?"
HILL: "I do not."
SCOTT: "Do you see that there may be a problem with Prime Minister [Nouri al-] Maliki putting on the ballot¹⁰ in the upcoming elections a referendum on that precise question?"
HILL: "I think a referendum would be more possible if there were a perception that we were not living up to the security agreement. We are living up to the security agreement."

Ambassador Hill repeated his testimony¹¹ before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, saying that Iraqis have stood firm against efforts by insurgents to turn back progress.

The panel chairman, Democrat John Kerry, said significant progress has been made since the height of violence in 2006 and 2007, with fewer U.S. fatalities¹², a weakening of al-Qaida and an apparent lessening¹³ of sectarian tensions.

But Kerry and the ranking Republican Richard Lugar voiced concerns about violence and efforts toward political reconciliation¹⁴.

KERRY: "It is frankly¹⁵ too soon to know whether the rise in violence since American forces withdrew from Iraqi cities in June is an uptick or an upswing. Whether it is a blip or a trend, recent violence has been troubling."
LUGAR: "The political accommodation sought by the U.S. has not come about despite the political space that was created by the surge and other factors. The central government remains weak and ethnic¹⁶ and sectarian divisions remain. It appears that influence and control are achieved by the traditional means, even while the government muddles¹⁷ through day to day operations."

Ambassador Hill also responded to complaints from some House lawmakers that they have not heard sufficient expressions of appreciation¹⁸ from Iraqi leaders and officials for the sacrifices American troops have made in Iraq.

He said he hears from Iraqis and Iraqi leaders everyday who say they appreciate these sacrifices, which as of this week were more than 4,300 dead and some 30,000 wounded.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

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 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

4 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

5 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。

6 malevolent   

adj.有恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Why are they so malevolent to me?他们为什么对我如此恶毒？
• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。

7 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

10 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

11 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

12 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 lessening   

减轻，减少，变小

参考例句：

• So however much he earned, she spent it, her demands growing and lessening with his income. 祥子挣多少，她花多少，她的要求随着他的钱涨落。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The talks have resulted in a lessening of suspicion. 谈话消减了彼此的怀疑。

14 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。

15 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

16 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

17 muddles   

v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的第三人称单数 )；使糊涂；对付，混日子

参考例句：

• Translation muddles model concepts, which leads to destructive refactoring of code. 这些转换混淆了模型的概念，可能导致重构代码时的失败。 来自互联网
• A glass of whisky soon muddles him. 一杯威士忌很快就会把他醉得迷迷糊糊。 来自互联网

18 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。