2006年VOA标准英语-Italy to Pull Troops Out of Iraq by End of

By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
22 January 2006

Italian Defense¹ Minister Antonio Martino, second from left, reviewing the Italian Joint² Task Force in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005 (file)   
  
Defense minister Antonio Martino announced this week that Italy's mission in Iraq would be completed by the end of the year. He said a civilian³ force would gradually replace Italian troops to continue to assist with Iraq's reconstruction⁴ efforts.

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Defense Minister Antonio Martino has announced Italy's military withdrawal⁵ from Iraq in 2006. This week he provided the first official timetable for the pull out of Italy's 2,600 troops saying around 300 soldiers would leave this month and 1,000 by June.

In an interview with Italy's all news SKY channel, Martino explained that Italy's Ancient Babylon military operation would end its mandate⁶ gradually over the year. He said the mission would be considered accomplished⁷ by the end of the year.

Martino says it is not an exit strategy; Italian troops are not fleeing or leaving their work half done. He says Italy has always considered its mission in Iraq as limited in time, and, with the objectives gradually fulfilled, the troops can be drawn⁸ down.

In Italy, some observers have suggested that the Italian government has announced the withdrawal at this time in an effort to win votes for the upcoming general elections in April. Italian public opinion has always been strongly against sending troops to Iraq.

But Martino rejected this and defended the center-right's government decision.

This was not a mission of war, he says, it was a peace mission like all the other peace missions. He saysItaly did not take part in the war, but merely intervened at the end of the war to help the country rebuild.

Martino says Italy's paramilitary force, the Carabinieri, trained 11,000 Iraqi police officers and Italian army soldiers trained nearly 2,000 soldiers.

Martino says Italy's presence becomes less important as Iraqis are able to maintain security on their own thanks to the training of Italian soldiers.

The success of this work, he added, was obvious during the elections held in the province of Dhi Qar, which is under Italy's responsibility.

Martino said Iraqis trained by Italy maintained security for the recent elections. There were no incidents, and turnout was higher than the national average.

The defense minister also said Italy cannot fail to do its part to combat international terrorism, which he said, is a concrete threat that exists in the world. Italy, like others, he added, must do everything possible to stop it from striking.

Minister Martino said Europe is now more united in its fight against terrorism. He added that differences between Europe and the United States on how to combat terrorism have narrowed. This is positive because, Martino added, the Euro-Atlantic partnership⁹ is of great importance for global security.

1 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。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。