VOA慢速英语2010年-IN THE NEWS - United States Fighting O

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

American Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates says history will judge whether the war in Iraq was justified². He spoke³ during a visit to a military base in western Iraq. Secretary Gates visited the base after President Obama officially declared an end to American combat operations in Iraq. The president made the announcement at the White House earlier this week.

America’s involvement in the armed conflict lasted more than seven years. During the most intense fighting, about 165,000 American soldiers served in Iraq. About 4,400 of the soldiers died in the war. An estimated 100,000 Iraqis were killed. The effort has cost billions of dollars.

The war began in March of 2003. The United States led an international coalition⁴ against the government of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. At the time, the American president was George W. Bush. His administration received reports that seemed to show that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Later, the information proved mistaken. No such weapons were found.

At first, the American-led forces were successful. By May of 2003, President Bush declared that major fighting operations had ended. Coalition troops had occupied Baghdad, and Saddam Hussein had fled.

President Obama speaks about the end of American combat operations in Iraq on national television Tuesday

But as time passed, resistance forces grew stronger. Violence spread among Iraq's many Shi’ite and Sunni groups. And, supporters of al-Qaida joined the fighting. Coalition forces often became the targets of bombs and missiles.

In 2007, President Bush ordered a surge in America’s troop strength in Iraq. Thousands of additional troops were deployed⁵ around Baghdad and the western province of al-Anbar. They changed the balance of the war. Coalition troops defeated many resistance fighters and militants⁶.

Over the past few months, many American troops have left Iraq.

United States Army soldiers stand near an Iraqi police station in Hawija during a joint⁷ operation with Iraqi security forces Wednesday

This week, the American military campaign in Iraq changed names – and goals. The campaign had been called Operation Iraqi Freedom. Now, it is known as Operation New Dawn.

The United States now has fewer than 50,000 soldiers left in Iraq. Their job is to assist and advise Iraqis. However, some soldiers will continue to help Iraqi forces search for resistance fighters.

For example, members of an American special operations group went with Iraqi forces Wednesday to the village of Hawija. One thousand Iraqi soldiers were to arrest suspected terrorists. The Americans raided houses and seized many suspects.

Some Iraqi military officers have expressed worry that the United States is ending battle operations too soon. Politically, Iraq still faces problems. Elections held six months ago failed to produce a clear winner. For this reason, the country has yet to form a new government.

And that’s IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Jerilyn Watson. I’m Steve Ember.

1 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。

2 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

3 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。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 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。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。