VOA标准英语2011--Iraqi Foreign Minister Sees Country on '

Iraqi Foreign Minister Sees Country on 'Right Path'

Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Iraq’s foreign minister says his country is headed in the right direction.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari spoke¹ without notes to members of the private group. He described his country in upbeat terms, saying that although corruption² and mismanagement remain endemic, the country is on the “right path” toward a stable democracy.
“Iraqi leaders came together, through our own initiative, to form a broad national unity³ government. Still it’s not complete, but it’s established: Iraq has its structure. It has its constitution. It has its way of resolving its own difficulties or internal problems," he said. "There may be delays. It’s not easy. It’s not tidy but really, when we compare ourselves to our neighborhood, we are in a stronger position.”
Zebari says that, although U.S. forces are to leave Iraq at the end of the year, he believes there is a continuing need for U.S. military training. He cites recent incursions by Iran and Turkey into Iraq’s territory, including air strikes by Turkey, in attacks against Kurdish militants⁴. He says he is concerned that the Iran-Turkey actions may indicate an attempt to assert more power in the region once American troops withdraw.
“That is another reason that the Iraqi government needs this continued support at least to be able to deter⁵ this regional intervention,” he noted⁶.
Some observers contend that Iraq will be in danger of falling apart once American troops leave. Zebari says he disagrees, saying that Iraqis are committed to resisting sectarian conflict.
He adds that he believes that Iraq’s example that led to the popular democratic uprisings in the Arab world - and helped end what he called a “taboo” against asking for international help. “
Look at Libya, for instance. They have publicly, openly welcomed the NATO American support to save lives. In fact, not only has there been air attacks on Tripoli and other places, I can tell you there has been special forces, European forces, fighting on the ground to defeat Gadhafi,” he stated.
Zebari says he thinks the democracy movement will inevitably⁷ succeed in Syria, too, although he says the repressive government of Bashar al-Assad remains⁸ very strong.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

6 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。

7 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。