2007年VOA标准英语-US Defense Secretary Says Failure in Iraq Will

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
18 April 2007

The U.S. secretary of defense¹ has warned that the implosion² of Iraq would have dire³ consequences for the entire Middle East. He spoke⁴ on a visit to Cairo, the second stop on his current Middle East tour. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from the Egyptian capital.

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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, right, meets with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Cairo, 18 Apr 2007

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Middle Eastern countries to help stabilize⁵ Iraq, warning that Iraq's collapse⁶ would harm this region long before its effects reach Washington or New York.

He acknowledged that many in the region disagreed with the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, and he said some might be "cheering for failure" in Iraq. He called that dangerously short-sighted and self-destructive.

Gates said chaos in Iraq would harm the security and prosperity of every state in the Middle East.

Analysts⁸ have said that is already happening, and they cite recent terrorist bombings in Algeria and Morocco.

The U.S. secretary of defense was speaking to the American Chamber⁹ of Commerce in Cairo after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Gates' trip to the Middle East is aimed at shoring up regional support for Iraq's government, and also at countering Iran's growing influence in the region. He and other U.S. military officials have recently stepped up criticism of Iran.

On Tuesday, the chairman of the Joint¹⁰ Chiefs of Staff, Marine¹¹ Gen. Peter Pace, said coalition¹² forces in Afghanistan recently intercepted¹³ Iranian-made weapons headed to Taleban fighters.

While acknowledging that the links to Iran are murky¹⁴, Gates told reporters this is a troubling development.

"We don't know at what level this has been approved by the Iranian government, in the Iranian government. We don't know the magnitude of the assistance," he said. "It's obviously troubling and worrisome that the Iranians may be deciding to counter the efforts of some 42 nations in Afghanistan trying to help the Afghan government establish a strong democratic state. So we'll watch it very closely."

Analysts in the past have said it is unlikely that Shi'ite Iran would aid the Sunni fundamentalists of the Taleban because the two have little in common, ideologically¹⁵.

Gates told the chamber of commerce that the U.S. and its allies should "have no illusions" about the Iranian regime: its goals for its nuclear program, its intentions in Iraq or its ambitions in the Gulf¹⁶.

After his talks in Cairo, the defense secretary left for Israel.

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 implosion   

n.向内破裂，内爆

参考例句：

• The population explosion is accompanied by a population implosion.人口爆炸还伴随着人口爆聚。

3 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

4 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。

5 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

10 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。

11 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

12 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。

13 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

14 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

15 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。

16 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。