A quarterly Pentagon report on the situation in Iraq cites significant progress in recent months on security issues, but also says the progress is still "fragile" and "uneven," and challenges remain in the effort to settle tough political issues and achieve national reconciliation. The document says the security situation in Iraq continued to improve during the reporting period, from December to February. But it says that has allowed some long-standing disputes among national and regional leaders to re-emerge and become a concern for the long term.
五角大楼关于伊拉克局势的一份季度报告提出近几个月来在安全问题上取得重大进展，不过报告还说，这种进展仍然是“脆弱的”和“不平衡的”，在解决棘手的政治问题和获得民族和解方面仍然面临着挑战。这份报告说，在报告涉及的去年12月至今年2月期间，伊拉克的安全局势继续改善。可是该报告说，在国家和地区领导人中存在的一些长期争端重新浮现出来，并且成为令人长期担心的问题。
The report says more and more Iraqi military units are taking the lead in fighting insurgents, but they continue to need help from the United States and other coalition countries for air support, logistics, intelligence and related capabilities.
这份报告说，越来越多的伊拉克部队在打击反叛分子方面正在发挥重要作用，可是，他们继续需要美国和其他盟国在空中支援、后勤、情报以及相关能力方面提供帮助。
"We continue to see more Iraqis choosing the political process over violence. That's demonstrated by provincial elections being held in 14 of 18 provinces. Despite some of these positive developments, national reconciliation continues to be hindered by the pursuit of ethno-sectarian agendas and disagreement over the distribution of power and resources at all levels," said Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman.
五角大楼发言人惠特曼总结目前的局势说：“我们继续看到更多的伊拉克人选择了政治进程而不是诉诸暴力。从伊拉克18个省份中的14个省正在举行的选举就可以看出这一点。尽管出现了这些积极的发展，教派之间在各项事务安排方面的矛盾以及各级政府在权力与资源分配问题上的分歧继续阻碍着民族和解。”
The report says violence is at about the same level it was in 2004, after the U.S.-led invasion but before the escalation of violence and sectarian murders that peaked in 2006 and 2007. Overall, it says insurgent attacks fell to 12 per day from 22 per day during the previous three months, while Iraqi civilian casualties fell 35 per cent. It also says there are generally positive trends on economic development, the rule of law, the provision of government services and Iraq's effort to expand its regional diplomatic contacts.
这份报告说，伊拉克的暴力事件大约与2004年处于同一水平。那段时期是在美国攻打伊拉克之后与2006年和2007年处于顶峰的暴力与教派杀戮升级之前。报告说，总的来讲，反叛分子的袭击下降到平均每天12起事件，伊拉克平民伤亡也下降了35%，而此前3个月平均每天发生22起反叛分子袭击事件。
Whitman notes that the report says violent groups have been weakened, but are still capable of conducting large attacks. "High profile attacks involving personnel- and vehicle-borne explosive devices [suicide bombers and car bombs] continue. The number of these attacks and the resulting casualties remained at the 2004 levels though, and as of yet have not rekindled a cycle of ethno-sectarian type violence," he said.
惠特曼强调，这份报告说，尽管暴力团体已受到削弱，但它们仍有能力发动大规模袭击。他说：“涉及人员与车辆携带爆炸装置(自杀爆炸手和汽车炸弹)的引人注目的袭击仍在继续。不过，这些袭击的数量以及造成的伤亡仍然处于2004年的水平，而且到目前为止并没有激起新一轮教派暴力。”
The document also says "Iran continues to pose a significant challenge to Iraq's long-term stability and political independence." It says "Iran continues to host, train, fund, arm and guide militant groups" that oppose the Iraqi government. But the report says the number of attacks with high-powered roadside bombs provided by Iranian forces declined in recent months, and many leaders of Iraqi groups allied with Iran have been killed, captured or exiled, or have gone into hiding.
这份报告还说，“伊朗对伊拉克的长期稳定和政治独立继续构成相当大的挑战”。报告说，“伊朗继续接待、训练、武装和指导反对伊拉克政府的激进组织”。不过，这份报告说，近几个月来，用伊朗武装提供的杀伤力很强的路边炸弹进行的袭击数字已经下降，许多与伊朗结盟的伊拉克组织的领导人不是被打死、抓获，就是流亡在外或者隐藏起来。
The Pentagon report also says the global economic crisis and the fall in the price of oil may affect the Iraqi government's ability to provide funding for defense and economic development. It says the projected Iraqi budget deficit of $20 billion this year may rise.
五角大楼的报告还说，全球经济危机和石油价格下跌可以影响伊拉克政府为防务和经济发展提供资金的能力。报告说，伊拉克今年的预算赤字被预测为200亿美元，而这个数字可能还会上升。 |