VOA常速英语2008年-Iraqi Offensive Meets With Skepticism in Congre

By Kent Klein
Washington
30 March 2008

The debate among Americans about the state of the war in Iraq played out on this week's Sunday television interview programs. Democratic and Republican lawmakers and the head of the CIA offered their views on a radical¹ Iraqi Shi'ite cleric's order for his militia² to stop fighting against Iraqi government and coalition³ forces. Authorities in Iraq say they are lifting Baghdad's around-the-clock curfew. VOA's Kent Klein reports from Washington.

After six days of fighting in Basra, Baghdad and other mainly Shi'ite areas of Iraq, Moqtada al-Sadr says he is pulling his Mahdi Army fighters off the streets nationwide. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki responded by calling it a step in the right direction.

Here in the United States, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he's skeptical⁴ about the move.

"Iran is backing these Shia militias⁵," said Senator Graham. "I don't know how much power al-Sadr has. If he said, 'Stop fighting tomorrow,' I don't know if people would listen. Part of the problem has been that the cease-fire was never fully⁶ embraced by the Shia militias, the Mahdi Army in the south. So at the end of the day, Sadr is a minority within the parliament. Politically, he's a minority."

Graham and Democratic Senator Jack⁷ Reed, both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, appeared on Fox News Sunday. Both have recently returned from their 11th visit to Iraq. Reed says he also doubts whether al-Sadr's order will have a lasting⁸ impact. He says it appears to be a political ploy⁹.

"I think, in the long run, this struggle is going to go on," said Senator Reed. "In fact, the problem is, it could really spin out of control, and that you could have widespread and increased fighting and violence over many months, and it could even pull in the other sectarian communities as they try to exploit this fissure¹⁰ between the Shia communities."

But Senator Graham said he believes the Iraqi government's offensive against the militias is necessary, because the militias are directly supported by the Iranian government.

"We must win this fight," he said. "The militias that we're fighting are backed by Iran, so this is an effort by Iran to destabilize Iraq. I hope we can find a political compromise, but the American military power we've put in in the last year has enormously turned things around politically, economically and militarily. The fight in the south needs to come. It is now upon us, and I hope it can be resolved in a way to stabilize¹¹ Iraq."

Democratic Senator Reed said his Republican colleague was misreading the nature of Iran's involvement in supporting the militias.

"The Iranians have close associations with all the Shia communities, not only Sadr, but also with [Abdul Aziz al-] Hakim," he said. "In fact, just a few weeks ago, [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmedinejad made a very significant visit and was greeted warmly by Prime Minister Maliki. So the notion that this is a fight by American allies against Iranian-inspired elements is not accurate."

Senator Chuck Hagel, who has often clashed with his fellow Republicans in the White House about their Iraq policy, did so again Sunday. On CNN Late Edition, Hagel disputed President Bush's recent assertion that the "surge" in US troop strength over the past year has brought peace and stability to Iraq.

"If, in fact, the surge has calmed things to a point where the President and others are saying, well, they've done a great service and they've achieved some terrific things, why, then, is the Administration talking about keeping more American troops in Iraq for the remainder of this year than we had before the surge," asked Senator Hagel.

The Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, Air Force General Michael Hayden, talked about the Iraqi's offensive in Basra and elsewhere on NBC's Meet the Press. He said Prime Minister al-Maliki was making a "difficult political decision."

"I guess one would say that success is not guaranteed, but when I talked to my analysts¹² on Friday afternoon, they said that based on this effort, they expect the situation in Iraq to be better at the end of what's going on now than it was at the beginning," said Michael Hayden.

The CIA chief told program host Tim Russert about 70 percent of Basra had been controlled by militias, armed gangs and criminal elements, and government control needed to be restored.

"You just can't have the second major city in the country- economically, the most important city in the country -beyond the control of the government," he said. "And so, although there's a certain sense of disappointment in the fact that violence is increasing, we knew we couldn't get to where we had to be for a modern, democratic Iraqi state without going through this."

General Hayden said the Iraqi government may not have enough combat power to fully gain control of all areas from the militias, and may need Coalition help. He expects the process to take years.

1 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。

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 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。

4 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

5 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

6 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。

7 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

8 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

9 ploy   

n.花招，手段

参考例句：

• I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public.我认为这只是政府欺骗公众的手段。
• Christmas should be a time of excitement and wonder,not a cynical marketing ploy.圣诞节应该是兴奋和美妙的时刻，而不该是一种肆无忌惮的营销策略。

10 fissure   

n.裂缝；裂伤

参考例句：

• Though we all got out to examine the fissure,he remained in the car.我们纷纷下车察看那个大裂缝，他却呆在车上。
• Ground fissure is the main geological disaster in Xi'an city construction.地裂缝是西安市主要的工程地质灾害问题。

11 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。