US Welcomes Prospect of Arab Peacekeepers in Iraq

 

By David Gollust

The Bush administration has been working hard to try to enlist¹ Muslim, and especially Arab, countries to join in Iraq peacekeeping operations. Although neither Jordan nor Yemen has made firm commitments to send troops, their expressed willingness to consider such a step drew an immediate² welcome from the State Department.

In a talk with reporters, Deputy State Department Spokesman Adam Ereli said neither Jordan nor Yemen had discussed their intentions with the United States, but that their interest in helping³ bolster⁴ security in Iraq is commendable⁵:

"We certainly commend both countries for their offers of assistance," Mr. Ereli said. "We've long said that it's important that the international community do what it can to support Iraq, and the interim⁶ Iraqi government as it moves to establish security and democratize. Obviously, it's up to each country to determine what it can do. But the fact that Iraq's neighbors are moving in this direction is certainly something that's positive."

Jordan's King Abdullah said in a BBC interview Thursday that if Iraq's newly sovereign interim government asked Jordan to commit troops, then it would be "very difficult" for his government to say no.

However, Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher later told reporters King Abdullah's comments should be seen as a statement of support for the new Baghdad government rather than an announcement of a pending⁷ deployment⁸.

Jordan has played host to the training of hundreds of officers for Iraq's new security forces. But Mr. Muasher said he did not think Iraqi authorities would want armies from neighboring states on its soil.

A U.S.-backed plan for Turkey to commit peacekeeping troops to Iraq last year was scuttled⁹ by opposition¹⁰ from members of the now-defunct Iraqi Governing Council, who objected to the prospect¹¹ of Turkish troops in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq.

Officials of Yemen's foreign ministry¹² were quoted Friday as saying that country would be willing to send troops to Iraq, but only if they serve under a United Nations mandate¹³ and under the control of the world body.

The U.N. Security Council resolution approved earlier this month endorsing¹⁴ the formation of the Iraqi interim government called for creation of a distinct unit within the U.S.-led multinational¹⁵ force to protect United Nations personnel and operations in Iraq.

U.S. officials are hoping that Monday's transfer of sovereignty to the interim government will prompt countries previously¹⁶ reluctant to commit troops to Iraq to reconsider and provide soldiers, if not to the broader American-commanded force, then to the U.N.-protection unit.

David Gollust, VOA News, the State Department.

注释：
enlist 征募
bolster 支持
commendable 值得表扬
interim 临时的
pending 待解决的
scuttle 急忙撤退
Kurdish 库尔德人的
mandate 命令，指令
endorse 认可，签署
multinational 多国的
reluctant 勉强的，不愿意的

 

1 enlist   

vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍

参考例句：

• They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
• The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会，支持他们的正义斗争。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

5 commendable   

adj.值得称赞的

参考例句：

• The government's action here is highly commendable.政府这样的行动值得高度赞扬。
• Such carping is not commendable.这样吹毛求疵真不大好。

6 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

7 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

8 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。

9 scuttled   

v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走

参考例句：

• She scuttled off when she heard the sound of his voice. 听到他的说话声，她赶紧跑开了。
• The thief scuttled off when he saw the policeman. 小偷看见警察来了便急忙跑掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

12 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。

13 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

14 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

15 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

16 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。