2007年VOA标准英语-US, Iran, Iraq Setting Up Subcommittee on Iraqi

By David Gollust
State Department
24 July 2007

U.S. and Iranian diplomats¹, meeting in Baghdad for the second time in two months, agreed Tuesday to set up a joint² subcommittee with Iraq on Iraqi security issues.  But U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, says the meeting with his Iranian counterpart was marred³ by heated exchanges over Iran's role in Iraq. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Ambassador Crocker says Iranian support for radical⁴ militia⁵ elements in Iraq has, if anything, increased since his first meeting with his Iranian counterpart May 28.

But he says the United States has agreed to take part in a trilateral security subcommittee as part of an effort to determine whether Iran intends to match its expressed interest in a stable Iraq with tangible⁶ action.

Crocker spoke⁷ to State Department reporters in a telephone conference call after the seven hour meeting with Iranian ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Kazemi Qomi and senior Iraqi officials.

He described the discussions as difficult and marked by heated exchanges, starting when he accused Iran of continued, and even increased support, including weapons assistance, for extremists involved in attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces.

US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker speaks during a press conference after meeting with the Iranian Ambassador Hasan Kazemi Qomi in Baghdad, Iraq, 24 July 24, 2007

"I made it as clear as I possibly could that we're seeing direct Iranian support for extremist militias⁸ both training and actual weapons, that we've got the proof," he said.  "We provided a brief summary of the proof.  He took exception to that. I said we're not here to prove something in a court of law, we're here to let them know that we know what they're doing, and it needs to stop."

Asked for details of the activity, which Iran denies, Crocker cited an increase in mortar⁹ and other indirect fire in the last month or two into Baghdad's fortified¹⁰ Green Zone, which includes the U.S. embassy and Iraqi government buildings.

He said the overwhelming majority of the attacks are coming from the Shiite Sadr City neighborhood and staged by militia groups, which the United States knows Iran has connections with.

He also said, under questioning, that the Bush administration is not going to abandon the dialogue with Iran at what he termed this early stage, though stressing that U.S. officials are not overly-hopeful of a change in Iranian behavior:

"Somebody said once that hope is a nice sentiment, but a pretty poor policy," he added.  "We'll see what they do. Over the last two months, we've seen if anything an increase. They maintain they're serious about assisting Iraq to improve security and stability, so the opportunity's in front of them. We'll measure it by actions on the ground."

Crocker said he made no threats about consequences to Iran if its behavior does not change, other than to make it clear that officers of Iran's elite¹¹ Quds Force and their surrogates will not be safe in Iraq, something he said Tehran should know already.

He said discussions would begin immediately on the formation of the trilateral security subcommittee, which would report to the principals in the Baghdad discussions.

The ambassadorial talks in Baghdad are the first direct dialogue between the two countries since the break in diplomatic relations after Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979.

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

4 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

5 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。

6 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

7 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。

8 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

9 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

10 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。

11 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。