2007年VOA标准英语-US Launches New Offensives in Baghdad

By Al Pessin
Baghdad
16 June 2007

The American commander in Iraq says his forces have launched new offensives against al-Qaida insurgents² in and around Baghdad during the last 24 hours, making use of the last of the additional combat forces President Bush ordered to Iraq in January. VOA's Al Pessin reports from Baghdad.

General David Petraeus announced the offensives at a news conference on Saturday.

"Literally³ in the last 24 hours, we have launched a number of different offensive operations in the Baghdad belts in particular," he said, "and we're continuing a number of operations that have been ongoing⁴ in Baghdad itself."

General Petraeus says the operations are targeting areas that have been al-Qaida safe havens⁵, and bases for launching car bomb attacks. "A fairly large, coordinated⁶ offensive operation, with all of these surge forces, has only just now been launched," he said.

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Iraqi and American officers escort Secretary Robert Gates, center, and Iraqi Staff Major General Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq at the Joint Security Station

The general said he is taking advantage of the fact that the last of the extra U.S. forces have finally arrived, bringing new capabilities⁸ he can use to go after insurgents on their home ground. He would not provide any details of the operations. The general also announced the arrest of two key insurgent¹ leaders in recent days.

General Petraeus spoke⁹ at a news conference with U.S. Defense¹⁰ Secretary Robert Gates, who was on a one-day visit to Iraq. Secretary Gates said he came to press Iraqi leaders to make progress toward national reconciliation¹¹, which the U.S. government believes is crucial to long-term stability in Iraq.

"Is this a difficult process? Yes, because of the history of this country," said Gates. "But what is extraordinary is [that] it's not just Americans and our coalition¹² partners who are willing to take risks and put their lives on the line, but a significant number of Iraqis as well, and those are the people we're trying to help."

At the same news conference, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker spoke about the difficulty of pushing Iraqi leaders to move forward. "These have to be Iraqi decisions, Iraqi compromises, if they're really going to take effect and work," said Crocker. "We can't come up with solutions, as the United States, and expect to impose them or to impose timelines, and say, 'you've got to do this for the future of your country."

Ambassador Crocker and Secretary Gates both also spoke about efforts to achieve reconciliation on a local level throughout Iraq. Early Saturday, Gates, Crocker and Petraeus visited a new Joint Security Station in southeastern Baghdad, operated by U.S. and Iraqi forces. Senior U.S. and Iraqi officers told the visitors they are making the kind of progress in relations among sectarian groups locally that remains¹³ elusive¹⁴ on the national level.

1 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

2 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

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

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 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

6 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 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。

10 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。

11 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

12 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。

13 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。

14 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。