2006年VOA标准英语-Rumsfeld Says Rival Iraqi Politicians Star

By Al Pessin
Washington
14 March 2006

Defense¹ Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the U.S. ambassador to Iraq has told him the country's rival political leaders are talking more directly to each other, and relying less on the ambassador to act as an intermediary. Secretary Rumsfeld says that is a good sign for the future, amid continuing violence and talk about civil war.

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Donald Rumsfeld talks to reporters, March 14, 2006  
  

As sectarian violence continued in Iraq on Tuesday, Secretary Rumsfeld said Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told him in a telephone conversation it was a good day on the political front.

"I guess the one thing I could say is that he felt that today in Iraq, in large measure, they were dealing² with each other, which he found encouraging, as opposed to more leaning on him to talk to somebody else," he said.

Secretary Rumsfeld said Iraq's political leaders are beginning to work together to do what they need to do - form an inclusive national government. And he says that is a good sign.

With the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion just a few days away, the secretary also praised the progress of the Iraqi people through a series of elections, and the progress of the new Iraqi security forces, which are taking responsibility for more operations and more territory every week. Still, he acknowledged the situation in Iraq remains³ difficult with ongoing⁴ violence and a political system he said is sometimes frustratingly⁵ slow. He said he understands when people question whether the United States should stick with its mission in Iraq, but he said the effort will prove to have been worthwhile.

Secretary Rumsfeld was asked whether he agrees with many commentators⁶ who say Iraq is on the verge⁷ of, or already in the midst of a civil war.

"You know, it's a good question, and we've been trying to look for a way to characterize what are the ingredients of a civil war and how would you know if there was one and what would it look like and what might be its progression either up to increased violence or down to less violence," he said.

The secretary says U.S. forces have not done any actual exercises based on a possible Iraqi civil war, but he said officials have been thinking about what might happen if a full scale civil war breaks out.

"Is it true that people in the intelligence community are thinking about this and analyzing⁹ it, and doing A-team-B-team type looks at, sure they are," Rumsfeld said.

But Secretary Rumsfeld said he does not expect the sectarian violence to worsen into a civil war.

"I think once people get comfortable with the constitution and with the government reflecting that constitution, that that should have a beneficial effect," he said. "Can I prove it? No. Will we know soon? You bet. And is that soon enough for me? Yes."

Secretary Rumsfeld said another positive indicator¹⁰ is the change in the attitude of Sunni leaders toward the coalition¹¹. He says eight months ago, Sunni leaders didn't want anything to do with the coalition. Now, he says, they have realized that their minority status makes it important for the coalition to play a stabilizing¹² role in Iraq.

Appearing with Secretary Rumsfeld, the top U.S. military officer, General Peter Pace, offered his own assessment¹³ of the situation in Iraq.

"The paths are both there, the path to civil war is available to the Iraqi people, and the path toward freedom and representative government is available to them," he said. "And they are standing¹⁴ at the crossroads right now, and they are looking down both paths. And right now, it appears to me that for sure the Iraqi people want to go down the path toward prosperity and freedom, and the vast majority of their leaders, both elected and religious, are espousing¹⁵ calm and unity⁸."

A week ago, General Pace said things are 'going very, very well' in Iraq. But on Monday, and again at Tuesday's news conference, he sought to clarify that comment, saying there are many good indications, but there is also the danger of further violence. He said he believes Iraqis will take the road of democracy and stability.

General Pace and Secretary Rumsfeld also acknowledged they do not have any proof that the Iranian government is involved in sending weapons or specially¹⁶ trained soldiers into Iraq. But Secretary Rumsfeld said the material and people have been found in Iraq, and it is 'reasonable' to conclude that could not be true without official support from Tehran.

Last week, the secretary accused Iran of sending members of an elite¹⁷ unit of its Republican Guard force into Iran to support the insurgency¹⁸. And on Monday President Bush accused Iran of helping¹⁹ the insurgents²⁰ with technology to make more effective roadside bombs - the biggest single killer²¹ of U.S. forces in Iraq.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 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。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 frustratingly   

参考例句：

• Some programs set this limit too close, resulting in frustratingly temperamental scroll behavior. 一些程序将这种限制设置得太窄，导致滚屏的行为变幻无常，令人沮丧。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• But the process is frustratingly slow. 但这过程慢得让人郁闷。 来自互联网

6 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

10 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

11 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。

12 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

13 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 espousing   

v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

16 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

17 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

18 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

19 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。

20 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

21 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。