2007年VOA标准英语-US Officers Charged With Fraud in Iraq Reconstr

By Michael Bowman
Washington
07 February 2007

Three U.S. military officers are being charged with steering¹ lucrative² Iraq reconstruction³ projects to a U.S. contractor⁴ in return for cash, vehicles and other kickbacks⁵. VOA's Michael Bowman reports, federal authorities announced the charges in Washington at a time when Congress is probing overall U.S. spending in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003.

 
Paul McNulty (2006 photo)
Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty says the accused Army reserve officers used funds allocated⁶ for the former Coalition⁷ Provisional Authority in Iraq as "their own personal ATM [bank] machines" from late 2003 through 2005.

In a news conference, McNulty alleged⁹ that the officers conspired¹⁰ to award reconstruction projects worth millions of dollars to a single contractor, who, according to a federal indictment¹¹, rewarded his benefactors¹² with lavish¹³ gifts.

"More than $1 million [dollars] in cash, a Cadillac Escalade [luxury vehicle], a Lexus [luxury vehicle], a Porche [sports car], a Cessna airplane, real estate, a motorcycle, jewelry¹⁴, computers, business-class airline tickets, and even future employment," he said.

The contractor in question has already pled guilty to taking part in the scam.

In addition, authorities allege⁸ that large sums of cash were smuggled¹⁵ out of Iraq to pay for improvements to the U.S. home of one of the accused. Two American civilians¹⁶ are also named in the indictment.

The deputy attorney general stressed that all the accused are innocent until proven guilty in court. But he added that fraud cannot be tolerated.

"We cannot allow a mission as important as the reconstruction of Iraq to fall victim to fraud, corruption¹⁷, and theft," he said. "Thousands upon thousands of courageous¹⁸ and patriotic¹⁹ soldiers and civilians of the United States have devoted²⁰ themselves to the mission of creating a free and democratic society in Iraq."

 
Paul Bremer

The indictment comes at a time of heightened scrutiny²¹ of U.S. spending habits in Iraq. Tuesday, the former administrator²² of the Coalition Provisional Authority testified before a congressional committee that is probing how billions of dollars were disbursed²³ to support Iraqi government agencies.

Paul Bremer acknowledged that inadequate²⁴ safeguards were in place to keep track of the funds and ensure they were spent properly. But he insisted that rapid revenue disbursement²⁵ was essential at a critical time in the mission when Iraq's financial infrastructure²⁶ lay in ruins and the country's government agencies needed to pay their employees.

1 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

2 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

3 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

4 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

5 kickbacks   

n.激烈反应( kickback的名词复数 )；佣金，回扣

参考例句：

• Everyone at City Hall is receiving kickbacks. It's the only way to get anything done there. 市政府里的每个人都收回扣，在那里只有送红包，事情才办得成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• G raft or kickbacks paid to officials or law enforcem ent authorities. 暗中付给官员或执法人员的回扣。 来自互联网

6 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

7 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。

8 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

9 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

10 conspired   

密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They conspired to bring about the meeting of the two people. 他们共同促成了两人的会面。
• Bad weather and car trouble conspired to ruin our vacation. 恶劣的气候连同汽车故障断送了我们的假日。

11 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

12 benefactors   

n.捐助者，施主( benefactor的名词复数 )；恩人

参考例句：

• I rate him among my benefactors. 我认为他是我的一个恩人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We showed high respect to benefactors. 我们对捐助者表达了崇高的敬意。 来自辞典例句

13 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

14 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

15 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

16 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

17 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

18 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

19 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

20 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

21 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

22 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

23 disbursed   

v.支出，付出( disburse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the 2000—2008 school year, $426.5 million was disbursed to 349085 students. 2000至2008学年，共有349085名学生获发津贴，总额达4.265亿元。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bank has disbursed over $350m for the project. 银行已经为这个项目支付了超过3.5亿美元。 来自辞典例句

24 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

25 disbursement   

n.支付，付款

参考例句：

• Marine bill of lading showing any disbursement charges marked COLLECT not acceptable. 海运提单上显示的任何费用标明“到付”将不予接受。
• This makes the disbursement of 51 channel is very convenient. 这就使得51的支付渠道非常方便。

26 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。