2007年VOA标准英语-US General Says Rocket Fired at US Base in Iraq

By Jim Randle
Baghdad
13 September 2007

A U.S. general has accused Tehran of sending rockets to Shi'ite groups fighting Iraq's government and U.S. forces in Iraq.  VOA's Jim Randle Reports from Baghdad.

Gen. Kevin Bergner speaks to reporters in Baghdad, 13 Sep 2007

The U.S. military spokesman, Major General Kevin Bergner, said U.S. experts have gathered considerable evidence a rocket that hit the American military headquarters in Iraq Tuesday came from Iranian sources.

The rocket hit Camp Victory, near Baghdad's International Airport, killing¹ one person and wounding 11.  The general said the rocket was launched from an area of western Baghdad that is a stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia² led by radical³ Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

"The attack used a 240-millimeter rocket, which is a weapon that these groups have received from Iranian sources in the past and recently used in other attacks against coalition⁴ forces," he explained.

The general said fragments of the rocket that survived the explosion had colors and markings consistent with Iranian origin.   

General Bergner's comments follow similar allegations from other top U.S. officials who have accused Iran of supplying deadly roadside bombs used against U.S. troops. 

On Wednesday, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, said there is hard evidence of Iranian efforts to establish a permanent militia presence in Iraq and that the United States had captured an official of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in southern Iraq.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rejected allegations that his nation is interfering⁵ in Iraq. 

But Thursday General Bergner repeated Washington's contention⁶ that Iran is supplying money, training, and arms to forces opposing the Iraqi government and U.S. troops.

He confirmed news reports that coalition forces are opening a base along the Iran-Iraq border to stop the flow of weapons and other aid to such groups.

"So we have looked at places where the positioning of coalition forces would better work with Iraqi forces and the government of Iraq in interdicting⁷ that flow," he added.

But Bergner said news reports gave a mistaken impression that there is a "strategic commitment" to a new base in Iraq.  He said it is just an "adjustment" of existing forces.

Abdul Sattar Abu Risha (file photo)

Elsewhere, a roadside bomb killed a key Sunni Arab sheikh cooperating in the U.S.-led fight against al-Qaida in Iraq.  Iraqi police said Abdul Sattar Abu Risha died in an attack near his home in western al-Anbar province. 

Abu Risha was among a group of tribal⁸ leaders who met with President Bush during his visit to Iraq last week.  No group claimed responsibility for the assassination⁹, but suspicion fell on al-Qaida in Iraq, which U.S. officials say has suffered devastating¹⁰ setbacks in Anbar because of Abu Risha and his fellow sheiks.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military says it plans to release between 50 and 80 Iraqi detainees per day during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.  In a note to reporters, officials said the releases would be based on an impartial¹¹ judicial¹² review, and require those released to promise to obey the law.

The military statement said the program is a joint¹³ venture with the Iraqi government and that the first group of detainees is being freed Thursday.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 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。

3 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

4 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。

5 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

6 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

7 interdicting   

v.禁止（行动）( interdict的现在分词 )；禁用；限制

参考例句：

8 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

9 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

10 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

11 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

12 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

13 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。