VOA标准英语2014--Kurdish Peshmerga Force Secures Kirkuk, Its Oil

 

Kurdish Peshmerga Force Secures Kirkuk, Its Oil

KIRKUK, IRAQI KURDISTAN —

The Kurdistan regional government has sent its Peshmerga troops into the adjacent province of Kirkuk to drive out insurgents¹, and to secure the area's rich oil fields. By doing this, the regional government has added a fourth province to the three it officially controls. The oil also provides revenue that could make an independent Kurdistan economically strong.

Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, has fabulous² oil wealth. It is an ethnically³ divided city. For years, Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen factions⁴ fought each other. Then, insurgents including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - or ISIL - unleased their terror.

In June, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Peshmerga troops, reputed to be some of the toughest fighters in this region, moved into Kirkuk to restore stability, and to protect the oil beneath it.

A monument in Kirkuk, a well-head surrounded by swords, is highly symbolic⁵ of both the value of the province’s oil, as well as the fight to control it.

Peshmerga member Mohamed Swani explains that Kirkuk’s oil now belongs to Kurds, not Baghdad, which objects to the takeover.

“Now, this place is Kurdistan. The oil is for Kurdistan. We must keep the oil, and the defense⁶ of the land, for all the places in Kurdistan.”

This reporter went out with the Peshmerga on a security patrol, to see how they keep the city and province safe, as well as the oil the Kurds want for their hoped-for independent state.

We left the military compound and pulled out into the street, our vehicle packed with troops, guns always at the ready.

The ride can be wild and bumpy⁷, but the message put out by every Peshmerga patrol is clear - order will be kept, and those who challenge it face the barrels of many guns.

Since these Peshmerga patrols began in June, Kirkuk has enjoyed more peace than at any time in the past decade. While this patrol covers the city, other Peshmerga units have been out in the province driving out ISIL and other insurgents.

Some Iraqi government troops dropped their guns and ran when ISIL swept into Iraq, but the Peshmerga did the opposite - they engaged ISIL, known as Dash - and drove them out. Peshmerga Kamal Mohamed Mustapha explained.

“You know, Dash came - to try to control Kirkuk. But when we heard about Dash trying to do that, we came over to Kirkuk, and took Kirkuk from them. We kicked them out of Kirkuk now,” said Mustapha.

The Kirkuk oil field and its pipeline⁸, and oil patch, Bai Hassan, are under Kurdish control.  Their pipelines⁹ are now rerouted to send the oil north and on to Turkey, to the port of Ceyhan.

Iraq’s central government has angrily reacted to the KRG’s takeover of Kirkuk and these oil fields. But the Kurds have made it clear that they will not give them back to Baghdad. This oil, as Kamal Mohamed Mustapha says, guarantees the viability¹⁰ of an independent Kurdistan.

“This oil is the future of Kurdistan, so if there is no oil, there is no future,” says Mustapha.

The Peshmerga say that if Baghdad wants to take Kirkuk back by force, they are ready to fight.

1 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

2 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

3 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

4 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

5 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

8 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

9 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

10 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。