2007年VOA标准英语-December Marks Deadly Close for U.S. Military a

By Mil Arcega
Washington, D.C.
02 January 2007
 
watch After Saddam video

2006 ended with a powerful reminder¹ of U.S. losses in Iraq.  Although the Pentagon has not yet confirmed it, media reports say the death toll² for American troops has reached 3000.  The New Year also marks a milestone³ for the war-torn region as Iraq begins the post-Saddam era.

 
Iraqis grieve beside the burial site of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Ouja, Iraq, 130 kilometers north of Baghdad Sunday 31 Dec. 2006
Saddam Hussein's body was taken back to his hometown in Tikrit under cover of darkness to quell⁴ the possibility of violence.  Despite intense security precautions, demonstrators -- some armed with guns -- came out in force to protest his execution.

Although the new year marks the end of an era and the start of a new one for some Iraqis, for U.S. troops, it was a grim reminder of the cost of war:  December was the deadliest month for U.S. troops in two years. 

And as 2006 came to a close, President Bush said his thoughts were with American soldiers. "People always ask me about a New Year's resolution.  My resolution is that they'll [U.S. troops] be safe and that we'll come closer to our objective."

 
Frederick Kagan
The stated objective: to bring peace and stability to a fractured Iraq, is expected to include a surge of new American troops.  Military analyst⁵ Frederick Kagan at the American Enterprise Institute says the president has little choice but to act quickly. "The fact that Americans are dying puts a lot of pressure on the administration, as it should," he said.

The administration's strategy is expected to include renewed diplomatic efforts with Iraq's neighbors. 

 
Dr. Shibley Telhami

But Shibley Telhami, a Middle East expert at the Brookings Institution says the outcome of such talks remains⁶ in question. "Most Arabs are torn about Iraq.  On the one hand, they really don't want to see Iraq fall apart.  On the other hand, they really don't want to see America succeed in Iraq," says Telhami.

To succeed, Kagan believes the president will need to increase troop levels by as much as 35,000 before even entertaining any thoughts of a U.S. pullout. "There is no nice scenario⁷ where we can simply withdraw our troops and that ends the pain."

For Iraqis, who live with the threat of violence daily, a post-Saddam Iraq is not expected to bring an end to the sectarian fighting.  Some say it could get worse.  In this week’s issue of Newsweek magazine, international editor Fareed Zakaria, says many of Iraq's Sunnis see Saddam's rushed execution as more "farce⁸ and vengeance⁹" than justice.

Some fear the images now circulating around the Internet of masked Shiite executioners taunting¹⁰ Saddam Hussein in his final minutes could further erode¹¹ Sunni confidence in the country's government and make peace in Iraq harder to achieve in 2007.

1 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

4 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 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。

7 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

8 farce   

n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹

参考例句：

• They played a shameful role in this farce.他们在这场闹剧中扮演了可耻的角色。
• The audience roared at the farce.闹剧使观众哄堂大笑。

9 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

10 taunting   

嘲讽( taunt的现在分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落

参考例句：

• She wagged a finger under his nose in a taunting gesture. 她当着他的面嘲弄地摇晃着手指。
• His taunting inclination subdued for a moment by the old man's grief and wildness. 老人的悲伤和狂乱使他那嘲弄的意图暂时收敛起来。

11 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。