VOA标准英语2010年-Key Iraqi Sunni Political Bloc Pulls O

Saleh al-Mutlaq, a Sunni politician who has been barred from running in the election because of alleged² ties to the Baath party, Iraq (file photo)

A key Sunni political bloc³ declared Saturday that it would not take part in Iraq's March 7 parliamentary election. Saleh al-Mutlak, who was banned from running by a parliamentary committee, is pulling his National Dialogue Front out of the election with just over a week to go before voting is set to begin.

 

The decision by veteran Sunni politician Saleh al-Mutlak to pull his political bloc out of the approaching election poses a severe blow to the Iraqi electoral process, and gives ammunition⁴ to adversaries⁵ of any compromise.

An appeals court recently upheld a decision by a parliamentary committee barring al-Mutlak from running, because of alleged ties to the Baath Party of deposed⁶ leader Saddam Hussein.

                  Related video report by Deborah Block

Mutlak's spokesman, Haidar al-Mullah, told reporters that his National Dialogue Front was "boycotting⁷ the upcoming election" and urged other parties to do the same. He supported the decision by citing complaints by U.S. commander in Iraq General Ray Odierno and Ambassador Christopher Hill over Iranian interference in the electoral process.

The parliament committee which banned dozens of prominent Sunni candidates from running in the election is led by pro-Iranian politicians Ahmad Chalabi and Ali Faisal al-Lami. Chalabi denied, Friday, on Al Hurra TV, that Iran had any responsibility in the decision.

The withdrawal⁸ of al-Mutlak's party undermines the electoral alliance with his coalition⁹ partner and former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who was expected to make a strong showing in the upcoming election. Allawi's spokeswoman Mayssoun al-Damluji indicated that the rest of the coalition would resume campaigning after a decision to suspend electoral efforts three days ago.

She says that Mr. Allawi's Iraqiya bloc [a secular¹⁰ coalition of tat includes Suunis and Shi'ites] has decided¹¹ to resume its campaigning after consulting with supporters and an extensive study of the current situation. The decision, she added, is tied to the will of opposing parties to stop poisoning the atmosphere and creating crises.

Marina Ottaway of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace in Washington says that Mr. Allawi's Iraqiya bloc has now lost most of its credibility, without its key Sunni Arab partner. "Concerning Mutlak and [his] Iraqiya [bloc], Iraqiya has lost much of its credibility, because the attraction of Iraqiya, to the extent that it has an attraction, was the fact that it's the only coalition that has been formed so far that included prominent Shia and prominent Sunnis," she said.

"That coalition has now been undermined, because if Allawi runs without Mutlak, it's no longer kind of the non-sectarian coalition that it was, even if there are Sunnis. The balance has been lost, forever," she added.

Ottaway notes that most other coalitions¹², including that of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have a token representation of Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds, but not the wide-based support of Mr. Allawi.

Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches politic¹ science at the University of Paris, says that the credibility of the entire election is now lost with the withdrawal of al Mutlaq. He says that the withdrawal of Mutlak is a massive blow to the credibility of the election, even if other Sunni candidates, such as Vice¹³ President Tareq al Hashemi and the Sahwa tribal¹⁴ leaders stay in the ring.

He argues that the problem in Iraq is simple: so long as there is no compromise between credible¹⁵ Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish political leaders to rebuild the Iraqi state, all efforts will be lost. He notes that former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger believes that the election may destabilize Iraq even further than it already is, rather that solidifying¹⁶ it.

Top U.S. officials, as well as many Iraqi Sunni leaders, have accused Iran of pushing for the decision to ban key Sunni politicians from running in the election. Marina Ottaway thinks that it may be a "bit much to see the long arm of [Iranian] President [Mahmoud] Ahmedinejad" behind the current crisis, because Iraq, she says, "has never had much of a democratic tradition."

Abou Diab, however, believes that the current political imbroglio¹⁷ has clear Iranian origins, and that Iran wants "to turn Iraq into a friendly client-state after the planned U.S. withdrawal," next August.

1 politic   

adj.有智虑的；精明的；v.从政

参考例句：

• He was too politic to quarrel with so important a personage.他很聪明，不会与这么重要的人争吵。
• The politic man tried not to offend people.那个精明的人尽量不得罪人。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

4 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

5 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

6 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

8 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

9 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。

10 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

13 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

14 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

15 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

16 solidifying   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的现在分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• The substances are formed from a mixture of liquids solidifying under pressure. 这些材料是由几种液体混合在一起并加压使之凝固而成的。
• Painting is an art solidifies time and space for solidifying. 绘画是凝固了的时间和空间的艺术。

17 imbroglio   

n.纷乱，纠葛，纷扰，一团糟

参考例句：

• The imbroglio led to the resignation of several managers.这场纠纷导致了多名经理辞职。
• I had seen something of this imbroglio at first hand.我曾经亲眼看到过这种乱七八糟的东西。