CNN 2011-12-27

 I think there is plenty of reasons to be alarmed// there is a toxic¹ soup of politically intrigue² and terrorist activity that's now sort of coming to a bubble in B. as we speak,I mean the decision of prime minister M. who represents a Shia body to go after his vice³ president almost before the US military had finished switching off the lights at the left. Politically,that absolutely smacked⁴ off some kind of vendetta,some almost  Shia was //vendetta.Then to this bombing, although maybe they are not directly be connected with that event,they contribute to a sense in Iraq that now the Americans are gone,all kinds of knives will be unsheathed and be stabbed in every which directions.

I can't tell you how nervous the officials here in Washington and based on my own reporting, we reported the situation from yesterday,that the CIA director ** made a surprise visit to Iraq in recent days and try to come things down,and ***the army chief of staff ,a former commander of US forces in Iraq,is there right now meeting with ***.I don't think a lot of folks ,correct me if I'm wrong,have a great deal of confidence in Iraqi prime minister.

Well, they're not entirely⁵ sure what he stands for,he's been very evasive,very oily about moving with the tide a little bit, but the thing is that if the US military // giant embassy was unaware⁶ that M. was going after the S. politician, that represent a big intelligence failure.

The M. cabinet is no good at keeping secrets.Everybody in B. knows what's happening in what used to be the green zone,if M's decision to go after the S.'s politician was unknown to the Americans,that represents the different kind of problems,that means despite of all the efforts ,despite of having a huge embassy,despite of all this long-standing relationship between the United States and the Iraqi government,we didn't know that such a big thing  coming down to pike.

Let's not forget B., you  spent a lot of time in B. over the years, the former TIME magazine Europe chief,there are still, even all US troops are out,17,000 in Iraq,most of them are in the Green Zone ,as you pointed⁷ out,about half of the 17,000 are diplomats⁸ or diplomatic support staff,the other half security contractors,civilians highly paid the civillians, there to protect Americans.I'm sure you are worried about them,I'm very worried about their security.

I'm worried about them,also worried about the thousands possibly,tens of thousands of  Iraqis that over the years have helped the Americans,whether  it's American military as translators  and divers⁹ and so on, or journalist organisation¹⁰ like yours  and mine,///,there is a lot of reasons for us to be alarmed,and keeping a very,very close eye on how thing's going in B.

How close is this alliance between government of M.,as you said himself is///  right next door.

Well, it's not as close as people who make it out to be,some comments in Washington assumed M. is puppet to Iran's puppet master, that is not true,it is true that many members of M.'s government spent some time during that long exile under the Saddam H. years.In Iran, there is suddenly a close tie than their used to be,but M. is also quite stubborn and very aware that the  large majority of his own supporters,Shia Iraqis identified himself as first // and do not see himself as a extension naturally  of Iran.

So, the relationship is a little better than it used to be,but this is not a master servant relationship by any stretch of imagination.

The White house issue a statement  today,it's expressing deep concern, condolences for dead people as a result of this weave of terror.Also, pointed out ,the vice president Joe was on the phone with //of Iraq,///,Joe has played a key role ,but here is the question to you,B.,how much influence now that all the American forces are out of Iraq,does the Obama administration really have there?

Almost none,I think which is why Bidden reached out to //because now,///represents the US's best hope of having sort of influence,because it's a collation¹¹  government and nobody can really rule Iraq the way the politics is set up without the support of K.,so the K. almost are a proxy¹² of the US,whichever administration,whichever government is in power,is in control of this country,we have to rely on the K.to help out.

But in terms of direct relationship, Joe Biden knows the clears in Iraq better than any American politician and even he has very little direct influence anymore.

1 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

2 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 smacked   

拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He smacked his lips but did not utter a word. 他吧嗒两下嘴，一声也不言语。
• She smacked a child's bottom. 她打孩子的屁股。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

10 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

11 collation   

n.便餐；整理

参考例句：

• It was in this retreat that Mr. Quilp ordered a cold collation to be prepared.奎尔普先生就是在这个别墅里预定冷点的。
• I was quite taken with your line of photocopiers with collation and stapling capability.我被贵公司能够自动整理和装订的系列复印机吸引住了。

12 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。