VOA常速英语2008年-US Lawmakers Hear from ‘Iraqi Top Fraud Cop’

By Carolyn Presutti
Washington
12 March 2008
 
On March 11 U.S. legislators heard stories of fraud and waste in America's efforts to rebuild Iraq.  A former Iraqi official testified before a Senate committee that allocates¹ money for Iraq.  VOA's Carolyn Presutti has our story.

Clean up is extensive on the street where five U.S. soldiers died.  They were on foot patrol in Baghdad when a suicide bomber² approached and detonated his vest.

In southern Iraq, a roadside bomb killed 16 bus passengers. These incidents are thousands of kilometers and a distant image away from the discussion on Capitol Hill.

Yet a former Iraqi official told legislators that such terrorist killings⁴ may have been financed by embezzled⁵ U.S. funds intended for reconstruction⁶.

Judge Radhi Hamza al-Radhi is the former head of public integrity in Iraq who fled to the U.S. after a second attempt on his life.  He faced questions from Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan.

Senator Dorgan: "Do you believe that money appropriated by this committee ends up in the hands of insurgents⁷ with which to kill U.S. soldiers?"

Al-Radhi: "The oil is being smuggled⁸ from Sunni militias¹⁰ and in Basra through the Shiite militia⁹ and, of course, they use this to purchase weapons and, of course, these monies will target the killing³ of Iraqis and Americans."

This at a time when U.S. lawmakers are considering an additional $108 billion for Iraq -- and when America faces a record budget deficit¹¹ and a possible recession. Contrast that to the record price of oil -- Iraq's main source of revenue, creating an Iraqi budget surplus.

At first we were told by the [Bush] administration, and the American people were told, that Iraqi oil will rebuild the country,” said Democrat Patrick Leahy. “That assertion by the chief architects of the war were made to be naive¹² or intentionally¹³ dishonest. I tend to think the latter."

Leahy wants to use Iraq's budget surplus of at least $50 billion to rebuild the country.

"That certainly gives them resources to carry forward with an extensive reconstruction plan," says Stuart Bowen, the U.S. official in charge of Iraq's reconstruction.  "Also it makes it all the more important that Prime Minister Maliki carry forward in what he has declared the year 2008 to be the year of reconstruction and anti-corruption."

Maliki has a tough job ahead. The Defense¹⁴ Department says millions of dollars in bribes¹⁵ in Iraq have resulted in more than 100 current investigations¹⁶.

1 allocates   

分配，分派( allocate的第三人称单数 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• The state allocates huge funds for the development of aid-agriculture industries. 国家拨出大批资金，发展支农工业。
• The value that then I create value allocates part to discuss. 于是我把价值创造的价值分配分别开来论述。

2 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

5 embezzled   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The clerk embezzled a thousand pounds from the bank where he worked. 那个职员在他工作的银行里贪污了一千英镑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cashier embezzled ＄ 50,000 from the bank. 出纳员盗用了银行5万美元。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 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。

7 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

8 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

9 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

10 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

11 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

12 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

13 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

14 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。

15 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

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。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

16 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。