2006年VOA标准英语-US Senator Says More Troops Needed in Iraq

By Margaret Besheer
Baghdad
14 December 2006

A senior U.S. senator visiting Baghdad is calling for more American troops to help stem sectarian violence in Iraq. VOA's Margaret Besheer reports from the Iraqi capital.

Sen. John McCain talks to reporters in Baghdad, 14 Dec 2006

U.S. Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican with presidential ambitions in 2008, told reporters in Baghdad's Green Zone that such violence is the reason more American troops are needed in the capital and the restive¹ al-Anbar province.

"The situation in my view remains² serious," Sen. McCain said. "It requires us to have an injection of additional troops on the ground in order to bring the situation under control in order that the political process may proceed. All of us seek a political solution. I do not believe that there is possibility of having a political solution unless there is some kind of military stability on the ground."

The senator said the United States should deploy³ between five and 10 more brigades. A brigade can have as many as 3,000 soldiers, so he is suggesting 15 to 30,000 more troops.

That suggestion is counter to the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group that told President Bush last week that the United States should withdraw most combat troops from Iraq by early 2008.

Much of the violence in Baghdad is attributed to death squads⁴ and militias⁶, such as the Mehdi Army of radical⁷ Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

McCain said al-Sadr is a major obstacle to peace.

"I do not think there is any possibility of a stable situation in Baghdad until al-Sadr is either reduced or eliminated in his influence and the Mehdi army is defeated," he said.

The cleric is very powerful, his supporters hold 32 seats in the Iraqi parliament and he commands a 60,000 member militia⁵.

Meanwhile, police say gunmen wearing Iraqi military uniforms kidnapped dozens of people from a busy commercial area in Baghdad. Officials say many shopkeepers and passersby⁸ in the Sinak district were among those abducted⁹.

It is the second mass kidnapping in Baghdad in the past month. In November, gunmen stormed a building affiliated¹⁰ with the Higher Education Ministry¹¹ taking dozens of people hostage.

1 restive   

adj.不安宁的，不安静的

参考例句：

• The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
• The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。

2 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。

3 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

4 squads   

n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍

参考例句：

• Anti-riot squads were called out to deal with the situation. 防暴队奉命出动以对付这一局势。 来自辞典例句
• Three squads constitute a platoon. 三个班组成一个排。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 passersby   

n. 过路人(行人,经过者)

参考例句：

• He had terrorized Oxford Street,where passersby had seen only his footprints. 他曾使牛津街笼罩了一片恐怖气氛，因为那儿的行人只能看到他的脚印，看不到他的人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• A person is marceling on a street, watching passersby passing. 街边烫发者打量着匆匆行人。

9 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

10 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

11 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。