2007年VOA标准英语-Iraq Announces Closure of Iranian, Syrian Borde

By Barry Newhouse
Irbil, Iraq
14 February 2007

Iraqi officials have announced they will close all checkpoints on the Iranian and Syrian borders, as part of the new plan to crack down on religious militias² and end the rampant³ sectarian cleansing⁴ in the capital. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from northern Iraq that Baghdad's most powerful Shi'ite militia¹ is denying American allegations its leader has fled to Iran.

 
An Iraqi army soldier mans a machine gun at a vehicle checkpoint in Baghdad's Shi'ite enclave of Sadr City, 14 Feb 2007
Iraqi General Abboud Gambar appeared on national television, Tuesday evening, outlining some of the measures of the new security plan.

The general says Iraq will close both of its border crossings with Syria and all four checkpoints with Iran.

The general says the closures will be temporary, with most crossings re-opening after 72 hours. He did not say when the closures would occur, nor if Iraq's border crossings with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and Kuwait would be affected⁵.

General Gambar announced all people unlawfully occupying homes in Baghdad must return to where they came from, within 15 days. Baghdad's rampant sectarian fighting has emptied many neighborhoods of religious and ethnic⁶ minorities. Thousands of squatters now occupy the abandoned homes.

The general also says Baghdad's nighttime curfew will be extended by an hour and he has announced new restrictions⁷ on carrying weapons.

He says only those authorized⁸ to carry weapons will be allowed to do so.

The general says only American forces, Iraqi Defense⁹ and Interior Ministry¹⁰ forces and some licensed¹¹ private security contractors¹² will be allowed to carry weapons.

 
Nouri al-Maliki (6 Jan 2007)
In the Shi'ite holy city, Karbala, Wednesday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki addressed a crowd chanting: "Our souls, our blood to you Iraq."

The prime minister pushed back against those urging the government to move more quickly to solve Iraq's problems.

He says a faster approach would be a useless waste of time. He also says Iraq's Shi'ite-majority parliament has approved of the more slow-going approach.

Iraqi officials have leaked details of the new security crackdown for weeks but have refused to say when it will begin.

In the Shi'ite holy city, Najaf, officials from the powerful Shi'ite militia, Mahdi Army, denied U.S. allegations their leader, Moqtada al-Sadr, has fled to Iran. White House officials said Tuesday Sadr drove to Tehran, in recent weeks, because of a possible fracture between extremists in his Mahdi Army militia and his political bloc¹³. Sadr's office in Najaf said Wednesday that he remains¹⁴ in the city, but has reduced public appearances for security reasons.

 
Smoke and flame rise from crash site of a US military CH-46 Sea Knight¹⁵ helicopter which went down about 30 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, 7 Feb 2007 
Also Wednesday, the U.S. military said it killed 15 suspected terrorists in operations in the Iraqi capital and detained 27 suspected al-Qaida members in Baghdad and Ramadi.

American officials also confirm the Marine¹⁶ transport helicopter that crashed last week, in al-Anbar Province, was shot down by enemy fire. Military officials had initially¹⁷ said the crash, which killed all seven Americans on board, was caused by mechanical problems.

U.S. officials say they are reviewing flying procedures, after losing several helicopters to enemy fire in recent weeks.

1 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。

2 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

3 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

4 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 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。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 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。

9 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。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

12 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

14 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。

15 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

16 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

17 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。