voa标准英语2008年-Iraq's Cabinet Approves Security Pact With US

The Iraqi government's council of ministers has voted to approve a three-year military pact¹ with the United States, despite the bitter opposition² of several hardline Shi'ite leaders. The agreement, which replaces a U.N. mandate³ that expires on December 31, must be ratified⁴ by the Iraqi parliament, as Edward Yeranian reports from Cairo.

The Iraqi Cabinet voted overwhelmingly to approve a new military pact with the United States, after weeks of bitter debate and fiery⁵ opposition from several influential⁶ shi'ite leaders.
　

US Army soldiers walk under the "crossed swords" monument in the US-protected Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, 16 Nov. 2008

The new three-year pact will be put to a parliament vote on November 24, according to the legislative⁷ body's deputy speaker. The new pact, which calls for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq completely by the end of 2011, replaces the U.N. mandate that expires December 31.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali Debbagh underscored the proviso in the text that all U.S. forces would withdraw from the country by the end of 2011, although he said it is up to the government, at that point, to reach a new agreement.

He says that a majority of ministers, present, voted to approve the agreement that centers around the ultimate withdrawal⁸ of all U.S. forces from Iraq. He adds the December 2011 withdrawal date is not subject to change, but the Iraqi government, at that point, will come up with a new agreement with the United States.

Debbagh alluded⁹ to the up-until-now acrimonious¹⁰ debate within the government and among Iraq's ruling Shi'ite coalition¹¹ over approving the pact, but insisted that bickering¹² had been resolved and consensus¹³ reached.

He says the pact was discussed by all factions¹⁴ represented in the government during a meeting Saturday with Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, and that everyone expressed his views and agreement was reached.

Only one of the 28 cabinet members present at Sunday's extraordinary session reportedly voted against the pact, although nine others did not attend.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Adam Ereli told the Associated Press the vote was an "important and positive step."

Iraq's top negotiator on the pact, National Security Advisor¹⁵ Muwafaq al-Rubaie, said earlier that he believed the agreement was a "very good document" and added that he expected parliament to ratify¹⁶ it.

Virulent¹⁷ opposition from anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Muqtada Sadr and from other Shi'ite leaders close to Iran had threatened to derail the new pact.

Sadr announced Friday that he was creating a new militia¹⁸, which he dubbed¹⁹ the "Brigades of the Promised Day" to fight the United States, and demanded that the United States "quit Iraq without leaving behind any bases."

Iranian state television called the vote "a victory for the government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki," which "imposed its views on everyone." Iran has long said it opposes the new pact, claiming that it threatens its own security and stability.

1 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

4 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

5 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

6 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

7 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

8 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

9 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

10 acrimonious   

adj.严厉的，辛辣的，刻毒的

参考例句：

• He had an acrimonious quarrel with his girlfriend yesterday.昨天他跟他的女朋友激烈争吵了一番。
• His parents went through an acrimonious divorce.他的父母在激烈吵吵闹闹中离了婚。

11 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。

12 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 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？

14 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

15 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

16 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

17 virulent   

adj.有毒的，有恶意的，充满敌意的

参考例句：

• She is very virulent about her former employer.她对她过去的老板恨之入骨。
• I stood up for her despite the virulent criticism.尽管她遭到恶毒的批评，我还是维护她。

18 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。

19 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》