VOA标准英语2008年-Former Iraqi Prime Minister Testifies Before US

In testimony¹ to a congressional committee, former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi says the United States and Iraq are at a critical stage of deciding on a measured and responsible withdrawal² of U.S. troops from Iraq. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.

Allawi appeared before a House foreign affairs subcommittee that has held hearings on the future of U.S. - Iraq relations, the latest on a possible extension of the U.N. mandate³ that expires at the end of 2008.

Saying both countries are attempting to construct what he calls a long-term productive strategic relationship, Allawi said it is appropriate to discuss a time frame for withdrawing U.S. forces. "As we think about moving to the next stage of our relationship it is appropriate to discuss a time frame for reduction of U.S. forces. But at the same time, such reduction must be linked to measure of progress in Iraq and the conditions prevailing⁴ in the country," he said.

Allawi describes security gains from the U.S military surge as fragile and possibly not sustainable.

Calling bilateral⁵ negotiations⁶ on status of forces and strategic accords deadlocked⁷, he says it is unlikely the two sides will conclude agreements before the end of the year, adding an alternative will have to be found involving the U.N. mandate:

"Extension of [the] U.N. Security Council resolution under Chapter 7 is an option but may be unacceptable in Iraq. A second options is a U.N. Security Council resolution, but under Chapter 6. This options and its ramifications⁸ need to be studied very carefully because we are concerned about the protection of Iraqi assets from claims by international creditors," he said.

Either option, he adds, would provide more time to work out more permanent agreements in a transparent⁹ and cooperative manner, but says the two sides are running against time.

Allawi had this response to a question from Democrat¹⁰ Russ Carnahan who asked what it would take to have Iraq's parliament approve agreements:

CARNAHAN: What elements do you think need to be included in such an agreement for it to have enough support to pass in the Iraqi parliament?

ALLAWI: I frankly¹¹ don't see any basic objection by the various constituencies in the parliament as long as the agreements, the blueprint(s) of the agreement, is discussed in parliament. And this is unfortunately not happening."

Allawi expressed surprise that U.S.-Iraq draft agreements have not come to Iraq's parliament, saying "you can't expect the Iraqi parliament to approve of something they have not seen."

Where Iraq's military is concerned, Allawi describes training of forces as by and large a secondary issue. More important, he suggests, are questions of sectarianism, which he describes as a serious problem, along with chain of command, and methods of recruitment.

The former Iraqi prime minister also expressed concern about the integrity and transparency of upcoming Iraqi provincial¹² elections, and national elections in 2009, noting violence and irregularities in 2005.

These are some of the conditions [in Iraq], Allawi says, that should be linked to negotiations on a time frame for drawing down multinational¹³ forces in Iraq.

Democrat William Delahunt told Allawi that while the U.S. Congress recognizes responsibility to assist Iraqi refugees living outside the country, lawmakers are nonetheless disappointed with what Delahunt called the minuscule¹⁴ amount the Iraqi government has devoted¹⁵ to the refugee issue.

 

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 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。

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 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

5 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

8 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

11 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。

12 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

13 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

14 minuscule   

adj.非常小的；极不重要的

参考例句：

• The human race only a minuscule portion of the earth's history.人类只有占有极小部分地球历史。
• As things stand,Hong Kong's renminbi banking system is minuscule.就目前的情况而言，香港的人民币银行体系可谓微不足道。

15 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。