2006年VOA标准英语-Former Iraqi Leader Saddam Hussein Executed in

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil, Iraq
30 December 2006

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was executed Saturday morning for crimes against his people. Iraqi officials present at the hanging say Saddam went to his death a broken man, but showed no remorse¹ for his actions. From Iraq, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

 
Video still from al-Iraqiya television shows ousted² Iraq president Saddam Hussein moments before being hanged in Baghdad, 30 Dec 2006
Holding the Muslim holy book, the Koran, and refusing a black hood³, Saddam Hussein faced the same fate many common criminals suffered during his more than 20 years as Iraq's president.

At shortly after 6 a.m., the former strongman was hanged. The execution took place at a former military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad's Shi'ite neighborhood of Kazimiyah, outside the heavily fortified⁴ Green Zone.

In video footage released on state-run al-Iraqiyah television, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is shown signing the execution order. The video then cuts to the scene of the execution, where six masked men are escorting a calm Saddam Hussein to the gallows⁵.

 
An Iraqi flashes the victory-sign as he rides through the Shiite-majority Baghdad suburb Sadr City during celebrations of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's execution 
He is wearing a black coat and white shirt. They wrap a black cloth around his neck, but do not put a hood over his head. His hands are tied behind his back. Two executioners put the large rope noose⁶ around his neck. The footage ends there.

Iraqi National Security Advisor⁷, Mouaffac al-Rubaie, who witnessed the execution, said it was completely handled by the Iraqis and no American witnesses were present.

Rubaie told Iraqiyah state television that only Saddam was executed, because they wanted to make it a special day for him. He said they chose the execution time, just before sunrise, so it would occur before the official start of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, which marks the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca.

 
A member of the Iraqi special police forces in Basra smiles upon hearing news of Saddam Hussein's execution 
Initial reports said two of Saddam's lieutenants⁸ had been hanged just after him, but Rubaie said this was not the case, and that Barzan al-Tikriti and Bawad al-Bandar would be executed after the Eid holiday.

In Shi'ite neighborhoods of Baghdad, there was much jubilation⁹ and celebratory gunfire could be heard across the capital.

Reflecting the sentiments of many Iraqis, this man says he cannot describe his happiness, because for 20 years Saddam crushed his people and destroyed Iraq.

An Iraqi special tribunal condemned¹⁰ the former president to death on November 5 for his role in ordering the executions of 148 Shi'ite men and boys from the town of Dujail after a failed assassination¹¹ attempt against him there in 1982.

At his death, Saddam was standing¹² trial for the murders of some 180,000 Kurds during the al-Anfal campaign of the late 1980s. The trial will likely continue for his six co-defendants.

In Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, police blocked the entrances to the town and said nobody was allowed to leave or enter the city for four days. Elsewhere, Iraqi and U.S. forces remained on heightened alert over concerns of possible retaliatory¹³ attacks from Saddam loyalists and Sunni Arab extremists.

1 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

2 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

3 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

4 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

5 gallows   

n.绞刑架，绞台

参考例句：

• The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。
• Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。

6 noose   

n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑

参考例句：

• They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
• A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。

7 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

8 lieutenants   

n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员

参考例句：

• In the army, lieutenants are subordinate to captains. 在陆军中，中尉是上尉的下级。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lieutenants now cap at 1.5 from 1. Recon at 1. 中尉现在由1人口增加的1.5人口。侦查小组成员为1人口。 来自互联网

9 jubilation   

n.欢庆，喜悦

参考例句：

• The goal was greeted by jubilation from the home fans.主场球迷为进球欢呼。
• The whole city was a scene of jubilation.全市一片欢腾。

10 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

11 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网