US Military Prepares to Pull Back from Fallujah

Michael Bowman

U.S. military officials in Iraq say some Marine 1 units are preparing to pull back from positions in the strife-ridden city of Fallujah, to coincide with the arrival of Iraqi security forces commanded by former officers of Saddam Hussein's disbanded army. U.S. warplanes mounted strikes in Fallujah for a third consecutive 2 day as 10 U.S. servicemen were killed elsewhere in the country.

U.S. military officials deny that any full-scale withdrawal 3 of Marines from Fallujah is under way. Rather, they say U.S. forces are being "repositioned" in and around Fallujah to allow Iraqi security forces to assume a lead role in efforts to quell 4 an uprising provoked by an estimated one-to-two thousand die-hard insurgents 5.

Saib al-Gilani is one of several intermediaries who have overseen 7 tenuous 9 negotiations 10 between U.S. forces and the insurgents that, at one point, yielded a fragile ceasefire.

"We have heard that the American troops are going to withdraw their powers from Fallujah and this, if it would happen, would be a very good sign, an indicator 11 of peaceful progress," he said. "I was a member of the first delegation 12 that went to Fallujah for negotiations with the fighters there and with the people in Fallujah. We insisted from the beginning that peace should become a language and there is no general or popular punishment just because of a few aggressive actions from somebody."

In spite of the apparent easing of the U.S. military presence in Fallujah, U.S. warplanes continued to strike targets in the city believed to be under the control of the insurgents. Coalition 13 forces hope to stabilize 14 Iraq's security situation ahead of a planned June 30 transfer of power.

Elsewhere in Iraq, the death toll 15 for U.S. troops continues to mount. Eight U.S. soldiers were killed and several others wounded in a car bombing near Baghdad Thursday, while separate attacks on U.S. convoys 16 in Baghdad and Baquba left two other U.S. soldiers dead. The violence raised the death toll for U.S. forces in Iraq to 126 in April, the highest monthly total since the occupation began.

Meanwhile, a public opinion poll of nearly 3500 Iraqis showed most are glad that Saddam Hussein was ousted 18, but that many have serious misgivings 20 about the continued presence of U.S. troops in their country. The CNN/USA Today Gallup poll showed a slim majority of 51 percent, saying that they and their families are better off now than they were before last year's U.S.-led invasion, but 57 percent said coalition forces should leave Iraq "immediately," and 58 percent did not approve of the tactics and conduct of U.S. troops.
注释：
Marine [mE5ri:n] n. 海军
strife-ridden adj. 遭受冲突的
disband [dis5bAnd] v. 解散，裁减
warplane [5wR:pleIn] n. 军用机
mount [maunt] vt. 增长
strike [straik] n. 打击
quell [kwel] v. 镇压
uprising [5Qp5raiziN] n. 起义，升起
provoke [prE5vEuk] vt. 激怒，惹起
die-hard 顽固的
intermediary [7intE5mi:diEri] n. 仲裁者，调解者
oversee 8 [5EuvE5si:] v. 监视，视察
tenuous [5tenjuEs] adj. 微弱的，无力的
insurgent 6 [in5sE:dVEnt] n. 起义者
fragile [5frAdVail] adj. 易碎的，脆的
delegation [7deli5^eiFEn] n. 代表团
death toll n. 死亡人数
Baghdad [5bA^dAd] n. 巴格达，伊拉克首都。
convoy 17 [5kCnvCi] n. 护送，护卫
oust 19 [aust] vt. 驱逐，取代
misgiving 21 [mis5^iviN] n. 疑惧，疑虑
CNN abbr. Cable News Network 美国有线新闻网络，以提供即时电视新闻报导而闻名。
Gallup poll 盖洛普民意测验，指一种民意测验方法。
slim [slim] adj. 稍微的，薄的
tactics [5tAktiks] n. 战术，策略