2007年VOA标准英语-US Military Says More of Baghdad Under Control,

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
29 June 2007

The commander of U.S. troops in Baghdad says al-Qaida cells are being cornered into fighting rather than fleeing the new offensive by his forces and the Iraqi army.  Major General Joseph Fil says the result is continuing high U.S. casualties, but also progress toward taking control of previously¹ hostile neighborhoods.  VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

US soldiers prepare to search homes in the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad, June 28, 2007

Speaking via satellite from Baghdad, General Fil pointed² to an insurgent³ attack on Thursday that involved a large bomb, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire, resulting in the deaths of five American soldiers and the wounding of six more.

"Well, it was a very violent attack," he said.  "And we did think it showed a level of sophistication we had not often seen so far in this campaign."

General Fil says insurgents⁴ are confronting U.S. troops that way because their freedom of movement has been restricted by the surge of U.S. and Iraqi troops into the city and its surrounding areas.

"They have previously been, frankly⁵, elusive⁶ when we actually got into an area and started to clear it," he added.  "And we're seeing that in this area of East Rashid they're standing⁷ and fighting, and we're fully⁸ prepared for that."

General Fil provided statistics to back up his claim that the new Baghdad Security Plan is working.  He said in April about 19 percent of the capital's neighborhoods were under control.  He said that is up to 48 percent now, with another 36 percent of neighborhoods in the process of being cleared of insurgents.

Still, the general would not predict when the city might be fully under control, or how much of the job might be done by September, when senior officials are to make a progress report to the U.S. Congress.

"I am certainly cognizant of that, but I can tell you that we haven't altered any of our plans based on this date, which will be an important one, but it will come and go," he said.

General Fil says the number of insurgent attacks is down in Baghdad, and their overall impact has been reduced.  But he says the insurgents are burying larger and larger bombs in the path of U.S. troops, like the one that exploded Thursday.  That keeps the U.S. casualty rate high, but the general says casualties are not a good measure of success or failure, because they result in part from the higher operational tempo⁹ of his forces since the new security plan went into effect in January.

Robert Gates 15 June 2007

At a Pentagon news conference Friday, Defense¹⁰ Secretary Robert Gates said a special Pentagon task force is working hard to find ways to protect troops from the bombs, through technology, neighborhood diplomacy¹¹ and military operations.

"This is not a problem, I think, that's going to be confined to Iraq.  And so we need to keep working on it and find ways to protect our soldiers and marines," he said.

Secretary Gates said that includes developing relationships with local leaders who can help monitor activities in their neighborhoods.  General Fil says there is a major effort to do that in Baghdad, with a formal application and vetting¹² process for former insurgents who want to cooperate with the government.  He says the program gets 300 applicants¹³ a day who are willing to swear allegiance and come under Iraqi army or police control.

General Fil also says his forces are finding more Iranian munitions¹⁴ in Baghdad.

"There's no doubt that they're coming out of Iran," he noted¹⁵.  "Most of them are made fairly recently, in the past several years, and they have lot numbers that we can trace through to Iran."

The general says the Iranian weapons are mainly rockets and mortar¹⁶ shells, and many of them are being fired from the mainly Shi'ite Sadr City neighborhood into the heavily protected Green Zone, where the U.S. embassy and Iraqi government buildings are located.

1 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 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。

4 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

5 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

6 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。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 tempo   

n.(音乐的)速度；节奏，行进速度

参考例句：

• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
• They waltz to the tempo of the music.他们跟着音乐的节奏跳华尔兹舞。

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 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

12 vetting   

n.数据检查[核对，核实]v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的现在分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• Scripts had to be submitted to Ministry of Information officials for vetting. 必须把脚本提交给信息部官员审查。 来自互联网
• Their purpose in clicking deeper into a site is one of vetting. 他们深入点击网站的目的是一种诊疗。 来自互联网

13 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

14 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

15 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。

16 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。