2006年VOA标准英语-Iraq Report Cites Progress, but Extra Troops Ca

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
30 May 2006

 
A car bomb in Baghdad's Tahariyat Square which targeted an American convoy¹, setting the Humvee on fire, left, in Baghdad, Iraq Monday, May 29, 2006
  
The U.S. Defense² Department has released an unclassified version of its quarterly report on the situation in Iraq, focusing on progress since the last report in February.  But also on Tuesday, the multinational³ command in Iraq confirmed that it has called in 1500 members of a stand-by force based in Kuwait to help establish security in a troubled western province. 

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The Iraq Stability and Security report, required by Congress, takes note of political progress, including the formation of the new Iraqi government.  It makes only brief mention of the failure, so far, to appoint new ministers of defense and interior, who will command the army and police forces.  The report also cites progress on the economy, reconstruction⁴ efforts, and the development of a free media.  But it cites what one official called "disappointment" with slow movement on increasing oil production and expanding the availability of electricity.

The report says the Iraqi army and police forces are growing in numbers and capability⁵.  It says 71 army units are taking the lead in combat, and 40 others are fighting in support of foreign troops.  Iraqi units have taken primary responsibility for security in several parts of the country.  But the report does not rank any Iraqi units as being able to operate independently on a large scale, mainly because of the lack of a logistical support structure.  Officials say there are such units, but the exact number is in the classified version of the report, seen only by senior officials and members of Congress.

The report acknowledges that violence has increased since the last quarterly report was issued, but Assistant Secretary of Defense Peter Rodman says that does not mean Iraq is having a civil war.

"Somebody made a good run at provoking a civil war, and they failed, by our judgment," said Mr. Rodman.  "When you now have the leaders of all the communities have formed a government together, this is not what a civil war would look like."

The report says coalition⁶ forces are doing a better job of finding improvised⁷ bombs before they explode.  But it also notes the findings of a survey by the International Republican Institute two months ago that indicate Iraqis are more pessimistic about the future than they were late last year, and that they feel their security situation has deteriorated⁸.  Officials say data indicates fewer foreigners are infiltrating⁹ into Iraq to join the insurgency¹⁰, but they say some are still coming in, particularly to train Iraqi insurgents¹¹.

The report says 81 percent of the attacks in Iraq happen in four provinces, with Baghdad and the huge Sunni Muslim-dominated western province of al-Anbar having the most attacks.

To help deal with that, the multi-national command in Iraq confirmed Tuesday that 1,500 troops who had been on stand-by in Kuwait have been sent to al-Anbar to help with security operations. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

"The specific purpose for these forces is to assist the Iraqi security forces in the ongoing¹² operations to establish rule of law in the areas that they are going [to], to re-establish the conditions for effective provincial¹³ and local governance, to provide additional security for the people of al-Anbar Province and to reduce al-Qaida's ability to influence in this key area," he said.

But Whitman says there could still be a reduction in foreign forces in Iraq this year, which the coalition commander has indicated he hopes to recommend soon.

The commander, General George Casey, has said he will make his next recommendations on troop levels during the spring, which ends in three weeks, and he has expressed the hope that he will be able to announce a "fairly significant" reduction in foreign troops.

Spokesman Bryan Whitman says the deployment¹⁴ of the stand-by force does not necessarily mean that won't happen.

"We will, again, let the conditions on the ground determine the pace at which coalition forces are able to reduce their presence, conditions being not only the activity of the anti-Iraqi forces but also the development of the government, the strength of the ministries¹⁵ as they start to stand up, the security forces being able to take over responsibility.  There are a lot of factors that go into this," he noted¹⁶.

But for now, those factors have led General Casey to call in more troops, as insurgents continue to try to prevent the new government from establishing its authority, especially in largely Sunni Muslim areas like al-Anbar.

1 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

2 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。

3 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。

4 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

5 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

6 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。

7 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

8 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

9 infiltrating   

v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Be vigilant against the danger of enemy agents infiltrating the government and boring from within. 要警惕敌特渗入政府内部进行暗中破坏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The metastatic melanoma is seen here to be infiltrating into the myocardium. 图示转移性黑色素瘤浸润到心肌。 来自互联网

10 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

11 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

12 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。

13 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

14 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。

15 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。