VOA标准英语2013--Syria's Civil War Fuels Violence in Iraq

 

Syria's Civil War Fuels Violence in Iraq

Iraqis are witnessing the worst violence to rock their country in five years.

Bombings and other attacks against Sunni Muslim and Shi’ite targets are stoking sectarian tensions.

One major reason is the civil war next door in Syria.

“It is no accident that we are seeing more bombings in Iraq now because of the money and the weapons that are going to the Syrian Free Army, some factions¹ of which are aligned² with al-Qaida,” said Douglas Ollivant of the New America Foundation.

Amateur video posted online shows rebel fighters in Syria from the al-Nusra Front pledging allegiance to al-Qaida.

The group receives support from al-Qaida in Iraq, and militants³ frequently cross the porous⁴ Iraqi-Syrian border.

“The Iraqis are scared to death about the backlash and the back flow of some of these militants and al-Qaida related groups,” said Michael Rubin, who is with the American Enterprise Institute.

Rubin calls Syria an underground railroad for militants to get into Iraq.

In 2006-2007, tens of thousands of Iraqis died in sectarian conflict, but this time there are no U.S. troops to help quell⁵ the violence.

For months, Iraq’s minority Sunnis have staged anti-government demonstrations⁶.

Some say the success of Syrian rebels has given them confidence to challenge what they say is discrimination and abuse by Iraq's Shi’ite-led government.

“As this moment could be leading us to a war, it could also encourage a lot of decision makers⁷ to think seriously for the first time about sharing power, security responsibilities and wealth,” said Sarmad al-Taie, an Iraqi analyst⁸.

As the carnage continues, some Sunni leaders say the conflicts in Iraq and Syria are now intertwined.   

“Well one way of trying to give Iraq breathing room is to help the fighting in Syria end.  The longer it lingers there the more danger it is to Iraq," said Vali Nasr, the dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

But the conflict in Syria shows no sign of ending soon, and Iraqi leaders are worried other countries may be involved in encouraging sectarian attacks.

“The return of these people is an investment in the political instability that has led to instability of society, due to sectarianism that is linked this time with agendas beyond our borders,” said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Maliki has ordered a shakeup of senior government security officials, but fears of more sectarian violence continue.

1 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

2 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

3 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。

4 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

5 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。