2006年VOA标准英语-US General: Police Brigade Suspension Shows Det

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
06 October 2006

A senior U.S. general in Iraq says the suspension of an entire Iraqi police brigade on Wednesday demonstrates that the interior minister is serious about building an effective force. The general also says thousands of Iraqi policemen have been killed or wounded fighting insurgents¹. He spoke² from Baghdad to reporters at the Pentagon, and VOA's Al Pessin reports.

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Baghdad policemen and firemen at site of a bomb explosion (file photo)

Major General Joseph Peterson says the 700-member police brigade was removed from its front-line position in Baghdad because it allowed the kidnapping of 22 workers at a meat-packing plant. Seven of the men were later killed. Officials suspect brigade leaders were acting³ on the orders of the Shi'ite Mahdi Army Militia⁴.

"I really believe that the minister's decision to withdraw the 8th brigade from their current mission in Baghdad, and to put them in a training status is very, very positive," General Peterson said. "And it will grow confidence, not only in the ministry⁵, but also its forces."

General Peterson says the policemen will be put through a new training program, designed to give the para-military National Police more local policing skills and also a better understanding of the role of the police in a democratic society.

"As we take our brigades of the national police through this transformation⁷ training, we will continue to target the importance of being loyal to country, to the constitution and to the people of Iraq," he said.

General Peterson, who commands the coalition⁸ police training effort, also reports that, in the last two years, 4,000 Iraqi policemen have been killed in action, and another 8,000 have been wounded. He says the police are standing⁶ and fighting, rather than fleeing from insurgents, as some had done in the past.

He also reports that all the national police brigades were inspected in recent weeks, and senior officials removed two commanders from their posts. He says he and other senior officials are still reviewing other brigades to determine whether any more officers need to be removed for either incompetence⁹ or questionable¹⁰ loyalty¹¹.

The general acknowledged he does not know how deep militia influence goes in the national police, but he said the brigade removed from duty this week is not typical.

"I considered it certainly an isolated¹² incident," he said. "The minister has been concerned about two principal issues within the ministry, corruption¹³ and sectarianism. He's very vigilant¹⁴, and also has taken action concerning both of these major focus areas for himself."

General Peterson reports that Iraq is only about 2,000 policemen short of its goal of generating a force of 189,000. Most of those are local police, with about 24,000 in the national police force, and a slightly higher number in the border patrol. The general's training command has about a thousand people in it, but only about 100 are in the military. The rest are civilians¹⁵ and experienced American police officers, many of whom live and work with the Iraqi police units. General Peterson's staff also works throughout the Ministry of Interior, helping¹⁶ to build a system to support the police in the field.

1 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

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 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 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。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。

10 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

11 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

12 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

13 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

14 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

15 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

16 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。