2006年VOA标准英语-Saddam Hussein Executed

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil
30 December 2006

 
Video still from al-Iraqiya television shows ousted¹ Iraq president Saddam Hussein moments before being hanged in Baghdad, 30 Dec 2006
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was executed Saturday morning for crimes against his people. Iraqi officials present at the hanging say Saddam went to his death a broken man, but showed no remorse² for his actions. Hours later, bomb attacks in Baghdad and the Shi'ite city of Kufa killed at least 68 people. From Iraq, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Holding the Muslim holy book, the Koran, and refusing a black hood³, Saddam Hussein faced the same fate many common criminals suffered during his more than 20 years as Iraq's president.

Shortly after 6 a.m. local time, the former strongman was hanged. The execution took place at a former military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad's Shi'ite neighborhood of Kazimiyah, outside the heavily fortified⁴ Green Zone.

In video footage released on state-run al-Iraqiyah television, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who did not attend the hanging, is shown signing the execution order. The video then cuts to the scene of the execution, where five masked men are escorting a calm Saddam Hussein to the gallows⁵.

A black cloth is wrapped around his neck, but he is not hooded⁶. His hands are tied behind his back and his legs are bound together. Two executioners put the large rope noose⁷ around his neck. The footage ends there.

Iraqi National Security Advisor⁸ Moaffaq al-Rubaie, who witnessed the execution, said it was handled completely by the Iraqis, and no American witnesses were present.

Rubaie told Iraqiyah state television that only Saddam was executed, because Iraqi officials wanted to make it a day only about him. Rubaie said they chose the execution time, just before sunrise, so it would occur before the official start of the Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha, which marks the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Initial reports said two of Saddam's lieutenants⁹ had been hanged just after him, but Rubaie said this was not the case, and that Barzan al-Tikriti and Bawad al-Bandar would be executed after the Eid holiday.

 
An Iraqi flashes the victory-sign as he rides through the Shi'ite-majority Baghdad suburb Sadr City during celebrations of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's execution 
In Shi'ite neighborhoods of Baghdad, there was much jubilation¹⁰, and celebratory gunfire could be heard across the capital.

Reflecting the sentiments of many Iraqis, this man says he cannot describe his happiness, because for more than 20 years Saddam crushed his people and destroyed Iraq.

Even some Sunni Arabs expressed relief at the execution of the former dictator, a Sunni.

Omar Abdel Satter, a Sunni Arab member of parliament, says the punishment is just, because Saddam himself inflicted¹¹ it on so many people. He says it is the right of Iraqis to be happy today, but also to cry for their country, because Saddam is the reason it is passing through such a difficult time.

Additional video of a dead Saddam surfaced on Iraqi television stations affiliated¹² with the Shi'ite Dawa party. The pictures were of poor quality and showed the former president's body wrapped in a white shroud¹³. His head, which was not covered, was twisted at a sharp angle.

An Iraqi special tribunal condemned¹⁴ the former president to death on November 5 for his role in ordering the executions of 148 Shi'ite men from the town of Dujail after a failed assassination¹⁵ attempt against him there in 1982.

At his death, Saddam was standing¹⁶ trial for the murders of some 180,000 Kurds during the al-Anfal campaign of the late 1980s. The trial will likely continue for his six co-defendants.

Hours after the execution, three bombs exploded in close coordination¹⁷ in Baghdad, killing¹⁸ more than a dozen people. To the south, in Kufa, more than 30 people were killed when a car bomb exploded in a busy fish market.

In Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, police blocked the entrances to the town, and said nobody was allowed to leave or enter for four days. Elsewhere, Iraqi and U.S. forces remained on heightened alert.

1 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

2 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

3 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

4 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

5 gallows   

n.绞刑架，绞台

参考例句：

• The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。
• Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。

6 hooded   

adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的

参考例句：

• A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
• Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘，用华丽的手巾包着头，突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句

7 noose   

n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑

参考例句：

• They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
• A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。

8 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

9 lieutenants   

n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员

参考例句：

• In the army, lieutenants are subordinate to captains. 在陆军中，中尉是上尉的下级。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lieutenants now cap at 1.5 from 1. Recon at 1. 中尉现在由1人口增加的1.5人口。侦查小组成员为1人口。 来自互联网

10 jubilation   

n.欢庆，喜悦

参考例句：

• The goal was greeted by jubilation from the home fans.主场球迷为进球欢呼。
• The whole city was a scene of jubilation.全市一片欢腾。

11 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

12 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

13 shroud   

n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏

参考例句：

• His past was enveloped in a shroud of mystery.他的过去被裹上一层神秘色彩。
• How can I do under shroud of a dark sky?在黑暗的天空的笼罩下，我该怎么做呢？

14 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

15 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

16 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。

17 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

18 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。