2006年VOA标准英语-Iraqis Blame Government as Sectarian Violence C

By Margaret Besheer
Baghdad
23 December 2006

The security situation in Baghdad continues to deteriorate¹ as sectarian

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Iraqi tries to reach the coffin of his relative as it is being carried away from the morgue of a hospital in Baghdad, 21 Dec 2006

violence grows. Yet ordinary Iraqis, be they Sunni or Shi'ite, say they are fed up with their government for not acting³ against militias⁵ and terrorist groups. They talked about the dangers they face in their daily lives with VOA's Margaret Besheer in the Iraqi capital.

Every day Iraqis are found bound, blindfolded⁶ and shot in the streets of the capital, while others are victims of bomb attacks. The acts are attributed to Shi'ite militias and Sunni insurgent⁷ groups, waging a war against each other that is claiming on average one hundred lives a day.

Twenty-six year old Saif, a Sunni, knows this pain personally. Earlier this year, his older brother, Khalid was kidnapped. His family looked for him, but found no trace of him. One day a relative called to say many bodies had been found on the side of road west of Baghdad. They went there and Saif recounts what they found.

He says there were many bodies and they checked 15 of them before they found Khalid. His hands were tied behind his back and he was shot twice through the heart and three times through the head. Saif says some of bodies had labels on them that said 'Sunni' or 'Shiite' or tags that said 'this man is a traitor⁸ who works for the Americans.'

Other Iraqis complain of intimidation⁹ by militias and insurgent groups that are trying to ethnically¹⁰ cleanse¹¹ Baghdad neighborhoods. Residents are threatened and told to move or they will be killed.

Ali, a Sunni who lived near the Shiite enclave of Sadr City, says his family received such a threat a few months ago. It came by telephone one evening during dinner. He and his wife fled their home immediately and spent the night in their car in a parking lot near a coalition¹² checkpoint.

Then there are the near-daily car bombs, suicide bombs and roadside bombs that claim both civilians¹³ and security forces.

Abu Ali, a Shiite, says he had to stay home from work for three days because he was so shaken after a car bomb exploded near him and bullets flew past his head. He says his wife also witnessed a car bomb explode. As a result they are afraid to leave their house very often.

Abu Ali, like many other Iraqis, blames the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for doing nothing to stop the violence. They say he and other political and religious leaders have personal agendas and allow the killing¹⁴. They also blame regional players, Iran and Syria, for supporting armed groups inside Iraq.

Galib, a Shiite who was a captain in the army of Saddam Hussein, repeats a suggestion of many Iraqis. He says they want a new government headed by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Mr. Allawi, a secular¹⁵ Shiite, was prime minister from May 2004 until legislative¹⁶ elections were held last December.

Galib says Mr. Allawi does not favor either Sunnis or Shi'ites. He says Mr. Allawi proved it when the mainly Sunni city of Fallujah rebelled in 2004 and he authorized¹⁷ an offensive against them, or when the Mehdi militia⁴ of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had its uprising in Najaf and he authorized force against them as well.

"I think the government must be changed and the military must work for Iraq and not their parties," said Ahmed, a Sunni from northwest Baghdad.  "I think it is difficult to change the government. They must bring Allawi. The year he was president for Iraq it was the best year since the American military came to Iraq until now."

Iraqis say they are tired of the daily violence and they just want to live in peace and security so they can provide for their families as they used to. But overwhelmingly, they say they want to see the government crack down on the illegal armed groups who are terrorizing their daily lives.

1 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

2 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 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。

5 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

6 blindfolded   

v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗

参考例句：

• The hostages were tied up and blindfolded. 人质被捆绑起来并蒙上了眼睛。
• They were each blindfolded with big red handkerchiefs. 他们每个人的眼睛都被一块红色大手巾蒙住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

8 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

9 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

10 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

11 cleanse   

vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗

参考例句：

• Health experts are trying to cleanse the air in cities. 卫生专家们正设法净化城市里的空气。
• Fresh fruit juices can also cleanse your body and reduce dark circles.新鲜果汁同样可以清洁你的身体,并对黑眼圈同样有抑制作用。

12 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。

13 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 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。

16 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

17 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。