US Welcomes End of Najaf Standoff, Criticizes Syria's Role i

 

By David Gollust

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage is welcoming Friday's end of the three-week occupation of the Imam Ali Shrine¹ in Najaf by Shi'ite militiamen as a great victory for Iraq's interim² government. In an interview, he also criticized Syria's role in Lebanon.
U.S.-led troops were responsible for most of the military pressure on the militiamen of renegade cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. But Iraq security forces surrounding the shrine in central Najaf oversaw³ the implementation⁴ of the peace deal. And the outcome is being welcomed here as a major boost for the interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Alawi.
In an interview with U.S. funded Arabic broadcasters Radio Sawa and Al-Hurra Television, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage credited the end of the crisis to both the interim government, and to Shi'ite spiritual leader the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, whose return from medical treatment in London expedited the settlement talks.
"Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani played a very important role," Mr. Armitage said. "But no one would have been able to have played that role without the military pressure that the Iraqi military put on Najaf. And I'm watching today the Arab broadcasts and seeing pictures of armored personnel carriers with the Iraqi flag, and Iraqi soldiers patrolling the streets of Najaf. And I'm seeing a new pride in the new Iraq. So we're quite happy with this and congratulate the government of Prime Minister Alawi."
Mr. Armitage said the Bush administration is delighted with the outcome in Najaf, but happy most of all for the people of the city, whose nightmare, he said seems to be over.
In the interview, the deputy secretary also reiterated⁵ U.S. concern about Syrian pressure on Lebanese political leaders to amend⁶ the country's constitution to allow another six-year term in office by President Emile Lahoud, an ally of Damascus.
Lebanese religious leaders and others have strongly opposed the constitutional change, which would be needed if Mr. Lahoud remains⁷ in office after November.
Mr. Armitage said Syria, which wields⁸ heavy influence in Lebanon through its continued troop presence there, is showing disdain⁹ and disrespect for the Lebanese people and political system.
"Syria made it very clear to the people of Lebanon that they don't care about any established constitution, and they don't care that the people of Lebanon are allowed to express their views and vote for whomever they wish," he said. "Our view is very clear on this, that Lebanon and the Lebanese should be able to figure out their own future free of all and any outside interference."
Mr. Armitage said Damascus is playing a dangerous game with its tactics in Lebanon which he said over the long-term will prove to be very harmful to Syrian interests.
He also said it is about time, 15 years after the Taif accords on Lebanon, that Syria lives up to the spirit of those agreements and removes its remaining forces from the country.
Syria sent troops into Lebanon in 1976 under an Arab League mandate¹⁰ to try to end that country's civil war.
The Taif accords, signed in that Saudi Arabian city in 1989, provided for Lebanese political reforms, the disbanding of militias¹¹ and rebuilding central government forces, and for a timetable for a Syrian withdrawal¹².
Syria has reduced its forces and redeployed them within Lebanon, but 16,000 troops remain in the country with the nominal¹³ consent of the Beirut government.
David Gollust, VOA news, the State Department.

注释：
standoff 僵局
imam [伊斯兰]阿訇, 教长
militiaman 民兵组织
interim government 过渡政府
renegade背弃的, 背叛的
shrine神殿,圣地
implementation 执行
spiritual leader 精神领袖
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani 伊拉克什叶派最高领导人阿里·希斯塔尼
patrol 出巡, 巡逻
nightmare梦魇, 恶梦
reiterate重申
Damascus 大马士革(叙利亚首都)
disdain蔑视, 轻蔑
tactics战术, 策略
Arab League 阿拉伯联盟
Saudi Arabian 沙特阿拉伯
disband 解散

1 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

2 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

3 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

4 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

5 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

6 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 wields   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的第三人称单数 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• She wields enormous power within the party. 她操纵着党内大权。
• He remains chairman, but wields little power at the company. 他还是主席，但在公司没有什么实权了。

9 disdain   

n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑

参考例句：

• Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。
• A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。

10 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

11 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

12 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

13 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。