2007年VOA标准英语-US Says It Is Countering Iranian Influence in I

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
17 August 2007

The second-ranking U.S. commander in Iraq says he is trying to convince Iraqi Shi'ite extremists that working with Iran will have long-term negative consequences for Iraq. Lieutenant¹ General Ray Odierno spoke² via satellite from Baghdad with reporters at the Pentagon. VOA's Al Pessin reports.

General Ray Odierno

General Odierno says his forces are fighting Iranian involvement in Iraq's insurgency³ in several ways - including efforts to attack the supply lines that deliver money, material and trainers mainly to Iraqi Shi'ite extremists. But he says there is also an effort to convince Shi'ite leaders that, in the long term, it is not in their interest to allow Iran to increase its influence over Iraqi affairs.

"The main thing that we have to be able to do is get the surrogates that are operating within Iraq, which tend to be Iraqis, to reject what Iran is doing," he said. "And we're working hard to do that. There are Iraqi extremist leaders here that are supporting this effort. If we can get Iraqis to reject Iranians' lethal⁴ support inside of their country, we can stop this threat."

General Odierno says he is only at the beginning of that effort, and Iranian agents continue to have a "significant" ability to deliver support to Iraqi insurgent⁵ groups.

The general says U.S. officials still do not know whether senior Iranian officials are involved in the support for Iraqi insurgents⁶, which is provided mainly by the elite⁷ Quds security force. He says, for now, his forces can address the problem inside Iraq. But he added that as the United States learns more about the Iranian supply network, it might be necessary for senior U.S. officials to decide whether and how to address the problem directly with Iran.

"As we continue to develop our intelligence, we are learning more and more about the networks, both in Iraq and outside of Iraq," he said. "And as we develop that, again, those are significant decisions, national security decisions, that might have to be made."

General Odierno says Iraq's Shi'ite-led government understands the threat from Iran, and has sent Iraqi army units to help in the fight against the Quds Force supply networks.

The general also said that one trainer from Lebanon's Hezbollah organization was captured in Iraq about a month ago. He says there has been no further evidence of Hezbollah involvement in Iraq, but he believes the group wants to get involved, so his forces are watching the situation very closely.

1 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

2 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。

3 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

4 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

5 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

6 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

7 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。