PBS高端访谈:如果伊拉克军队从伊斯兰国手里夺回城市,将会发生什么?

 　　HARI SREENIVASAN, PBS NEWSHOUR ANCHOR: This week could be a turning point in Iraq's fight against ISIS militants¹. Shia militia² members have joined Iraqi forces to take back Tikrit. If they succeed, it would be the first time pro-government forces beat back ISIS to recover a major Iraqi city. Yesterday, the fighting reportedly stalled while troops waited for reinforcements.

　　But now, a U.S. military leader says he's worried about what could happen next if Iraqi troops manage to defeat ISIS altogether.

　　For some insight, we are joined now from Washington, D.C. by Douglas Ollivant, former National Security Council director for Iraq during the presidencies³ of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He is a senior national security fellow at the New America Foundation and a partner at Mantid International.

　　So, first, why the pause in fighting?

　　DOUG OLLIVANT, MANTID INTERNATIONAL: Well, we're not sure. That's a single-source report. We're not confident that is what's happening, although, you know, knowing what's going on in the fog of battle is often difficult.

　　What we do know is that the battle has been going fairly successfully. It's possible they've taken a pause to call for more reinforcements. But in general, they've been — they've been pushing through the city of Tikrit, and we do expect them to control it in days to, you know, a week or 10 days at the outside.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: You know, I referenced a comment, and it was from Army General Martin Dempsey. He said this week that any fight against ISIS is a positive thing, but he worried, quote, "what happens after the drums stop beating and ISIL is defeated, and whether the government of Iraq will remain on a path to provide an inclusive government for all of the various groups within it."

　　DOUG OLLIVANT: That's a legitimate⁴ concern. The good news today is that the initial indications are good. We have a front page story in "The Wall Street Journal" today about the Sunni residents around Tikrit being overjoyed at being liberated⁵ by the Shia militias⁶. In fact, we have a report from "AFP" that states some of the Shia militias are setting up Sunni groups within them, that they are recruiting Sunni auxiliaries⁷ to their militias.

　　So, there are some initial good signs. Now, of course, in the longer term, the political reconciliation⁸, the reconstruction⁹ of Tikrit, getting the services back up, their — you know, the economy moving again– these are all really important things that it's too early to tell if those are going to be as successful.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: And there's also some concern, it seems, on the involvement of Iran in this fight. There was a report that an Iranian revolutionary guard commander was seen on the battlefield or leading some of the troops in Tikrit, and there was some response, also, from the Saudi foreign ministers saying, you know, what? This is proof that Iran is essentially¹⁰ taking over Iraq. I mean, is it very easy to get people off the battlefield and say, "Thanks for the help, back to your country now"?

　　DOUG OLLIVANT: Certainly, Iran is banking¹¹ some very serious political capital with the Iraqis in their instantaneous and overwhelming support in their fight against the Islamic State. So, you know, Iran, in effect, has paid its dues and will probably enjoy some political support in the coming years because of that. That's something that the United States is just going to have to keep competing with Iran for influence in Iraq. It would be easy to just walk away, but instead, we need to stay in and really try to recover from some mistakes, I think, that were made early on that have given the Iranians some positional advantage in the aftermath of what will happen.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Is that what's leading to some of the tension in D.C. right now?

　　DOUG OLLIVANT: I think that's a big piece of it. I mean, there are, obviously, all types of things going on with Iran. This is just one piece of it.

　　The nuclear negotiations¹² are in the air. The competition with Saudi Arabia is the in air. There's a huge propaganda battle that's going on, on the airwaves, in social media, you know, for the attention of the people, you know, lots of accusations¹³ that Iranian-backed groups are doing this. You know, they, of course, are pushing back saying that's just not the case.

　　So, yes, there are concerns, some of them legitimate, some of them less so, and we're going to see how this works out in the longer term. But there doesn't seem to be any alternative to let any Iranians help. We certainly don't want to tell the Iraqis, you know, kick them out of country and fight the Islamic State without this aid. That's not going to fly, either.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: All right. Doug Ollivant joining us from Washington, D.C., thanks so much.

　　DOUG OLLIVANT: Always a pleasure.

1 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。

2 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。

3 presidencies   

n.总统的职位( presidency的名词复数 )；总统的任期

参考例句：

• The Dalai Lama previously visited the island during the presidencies of Chen Shui-bian and Lee Teng-hui. 曾经获得诺贝尔和平奖的达赖喇嘛，此前曾在李登辉和陈水扁主政期间访问台湾。 来自互联网

4 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

6 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

7 auxiliaries   

n.助动词 ( auxiliary的名词复数 )；辅助工，辅助人员

参考例句：

• These auxiliaries have made our work much easier. 有了这些辅助人员，我们的工作才顺利多了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In English the future tense is often rendered by means of auxiliaries. 在英语中，将来时常用助动词来表现。 来自辞典例句

8 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

9 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。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

12 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

13 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。