2007年VOA标准英语-Coalition General: Baghdad Operation Going Well

By Al Pessin
Washington
19 January 2007

The deputy commander of coalition¹ forces in Iraq says the early stages of the new Baghdad security operation are going well, and he sees good signs for the future of the week-old effort.  British Lieutenant² General Graeme Lamb spoke³ from Baghdad with reporters at the Pentagon, and VOA's Al Pessin reports.

Battalion4, 20th Infantry5 Regiment6 throw open a door in an empty house during a predawn sweep of a neighborhood in southern Baghdad, 02 Jan 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070517/1032430.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

U.S. Army soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment throw open a door in an empty house during a predawn sweep of a neighborhood in southern Baghdad, 02 Jan 2007

Senior U.S. officials have said they will be watching very closely whether Iraq's leaders and their military and police forces do what they have promised to do in the Baghdad operation.  General Lamb says, so far so good.

"We will watch how they develop and go through," he said.  "Right now, I think they're performing just fine."

General Lamb says it will not be easy to turn around the Baghdad security situation, but he believes it can be done with the new U.S. deployment⁷ President Bush announced last week, and what he calls a "huge commitment" by the Iraqi government and military.

"Things are difficult," he added.  "This is hard, pounding [difficult work].  I don't doubt that in any sense.  But I do see every reason for optimism.  I see a commitment with this government that I have not seen before.  There'll be lots of untidy [developments].  You'll be able to look into it and say it's not working and this is not right.  But the general consensus⁸ I get is things are moving.  Commanders are being held accountable to the chain of command.  And it's clear where that chain of command is."

The deputy coalition commander echoed comments by other officials, saying this plan may work while others failed in the past because of the full commitment by the Iraqi government.  Particularly important, General Lamb says, is Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's personal commitment to allow the military and the police to crack down on all troublemakers⁹, regardless of their political or sectarian affiliations¹⁰.  He says that promise is tested nearly every day, and that the prime minister has already allowed the arrest of many members of the Shi'ite Mahdi Army militia¹¹, which is affiliated¹² with a party in his ruling coalition.

"You might say that it's been tested on some of the arrest operations against the militias¹³ that we've seen recently," he noted¹⁴.  "He [Prime Minister Maliki] made a comment just a few days ago that 400 militiamen had been picked up from the Jesh al-Mahdi [Mahdi Militia].  It is a balanced approach.  That's what he said he would do.  Well that's what he's doing.  And these are quite difficult circumstances."

General Lamb said he is also optimistic about the new effort in Baghdad, because it is an Iraqi plan and because Iraqi military reinforcements are already moving toward the capital.  But he noted that the deployment of some Iraqi army units in an unfamiliar¹⁵ area among people from different sectarian or ethnic¹⁶ groups will require what he called "some finesse¹⁷."

General Lamb also welcomed what he called political progress on key issues, including pending¹⁸ laws to ease de-Baathification and to share oil revenues.  He also said he sees signs that Sunni politicians are interested in re-engaging in the political process, in spite of their minority status.

On another topic, the British general said forces from his country have not been defeated in Basra, where they are in charge of coalition forces, but he acknowledged that militias have made what he called "inroads" in the southern city. 

He said the number of British troops is down from about seven thousand to six thousand, but only because of rotations¹⁹ and leave.  General Lamb said he expects the British army will stay in Iraq at least through this year.  He said later deployments will be a topic for discussion at the political level, but the British army is capable of staying as long as necessary.

1 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。

2 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

5 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

6 regiment   

n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制

参考例句：

• As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
• They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

7 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。

8 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

9 troublemakers   

n.惹是生非者，捣乱者( troublemaker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was employed to chuck out any troublemakers. 他受雇把捣乱者赶走。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers. 她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 affiliations   

n.联系( affiliation的名词复数 )；附属机构；亲和性；接纳

参考例句：

• She had affiliations of her own in every capital. 她原以为自己在欧洲各国首府都有熟人。 来自辞典例句
• The society has many affiliations throughout the country. 这个社团在全国有很多关系。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

13 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

14 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。

15 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

16 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

17 finesse   

n.精密技巧，灵巧，手腕

参考例句：

• It was a disappointing performance which lacked finesse.那场演出缺乏技巧，令人失望。
• Lillian Hellman's plays are marked by insight and finesse.莉莲.赫尔曼的巨作以富有洞察力和写作技巧著称。

18 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。

19 rotations   

旋转( rotation的名词复数 )； 转动； 轮流； 轮换

参考例句：

• Farmers traditionally used long-term rotations of hay, pasture, and corn. 农民以往长期实行干草、牧草和玉米轮作。
• The crankshaft makes three rotations for each rotation of the rotor. 转子每转一周，曲轴转3周。