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Pains anti. Gains

游客2023-09-02  2
问题                                 Pains anti. Gains                              
    Pains
    The Iraq War is dragging into its fourth year. While peace remains uncertain in Iraq, opinion polls in the United States have shown that support for the war is falling down. However, U.S. President George W. Bush has outwardly expressed his confidence on more than one occasion.  "I’m optimistic we’ll succeed. If not, I’d pull our troops out," he said at a recent press conference.
    When he ordered troops into Iraq on March 20, 2003, George W. Bush probably would not have imagined that the country would be plunged into such a chaotic situation three years later.
    Despite its victorious offensives, U.S. forces have not been able to clear anti-U. S. resistance, which in effect has seen a drastic restoration recently. Although the U.S. dominated democratic process has largely been completed, and Washington continues to increase economic assistance, Iraq has made little progress in its reconstruction, leaving Iraqi people with severe water and power shortages.  In particular, ever since the bombing of a famous Shiite shrine (什叶派教徒的圣地) on February 22, the feud between the Sunnis(逊尼派教徒) and the Shiites, Iraq’s two major religious sects, has degenerated to the edge of a complete loss of control.
    At present, the United States can neither come up with a quick answer to the Iraq problem, nor rid itself of the heavy burden easily. Behind the "Iraq syndrome" are the huge costs on the part of the United States: over 2,300 troops killed and $ 200 250 billion spent.
Gains
    As a matter of fact, the United States has reaped remarkable benefits from the war in spite of its vast costs.
Geopolitical Priority
    The geopolitical situation has been made more favorable to the United States. One of the underlying reasons why the United States seeks a transformation of Iraq is to smash Arab nationalism so as to keep a firm grip on Arab countries.  If their advantages in population, natural resources and geographic position are integrated and they speak with one voice, let alone establish a unified Arab country, the 22- nation Arab world will be capable of resisting intervention by big powers. Unity means power and provides the best screen against the interference of Western superpowers. Arab nationalism, championed by former Egyptian Premier Gamal Abdel Nasser, was at its height in the 1950s to 1960s. In 1956, Nasser successfully defended the military aggression waged by Britain, France and Israel. In the Fourth Middle East War, or the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Arab countries effectively protected their dignity and interests by using the oil weapon. Although Arab nationalism gradually declined after that, with conflicts emerging among the various nations, the basis for political integration still exists.  For the United States, the Arab world is, of course, too large.
    Iraq is at the core of the Arab world. Its former leader Saddam Hussein had been going out of his way to revive Arab nationalism by taking advantage of the anti-U. S. sentiments popular in the Middle East, something inauspicious for Washington. It is for these reasons that the United States set about changing the nature of Iraq through the Iraq War, the post-war democratic transformation, and especially supporting the Kurds (库尔德人). In the new Iraqi Constitution, the country is no longer labeled an "Arab country".
    The United States has therefore succeeded in breaking the Arab world from within, preventing the revival of Arab nationalism and getting rid of the biggest threat for it to control the oil and strategic zones in the Middle East. In the meantime, as Iraq is turned into a dependent, pro U. S. (支持美国的) country, the United States will be able to establish a new strategic base in the heart of the Middle East. A curve linking Turkey, Iraq and Pakistan is in the making.
Democratic Transformation
    The United States has subjected Middle East countries to its democratic transformation. Promoting democratic transformation is an essential part of the U. S. Middle East policy, on which it relies to eliminate terrorism and reshape the Middle East order. Iraq provides a perfect laboratory for the U. S. democratic transformation experiment.
     In 2005, the Iraqi political process made a great progress despite frequent setbacks. Not only had the previous objectives been generally fulfilled, but the public also showed an ever greater eagerness for political participation.  For example, some 8. 5 million cast votes in the election for the transitional National Assembly January last year, but by December when the formal legislative election took place, the number of voters had risen to 12 million.
    Under the influence of Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt also held presidential, parliamentary or regional elections last year. "Democracy" has become something that all Middle East nations expect. Some critics even called the trend an "Arab Spring".
    Aside from the actual effects of the elections, the introduction of the concept of "democracy" in itself is beneficial to the United States. The United States has turned itself from a hegemonic (霸权的) power to a guardian of democracy, maintaining a solid control over the Middle East region.
Control of Oil Resources
    The United States has strengthened its control over the oil resources in the Middle East. Even before the Iraq War, some insightful people had pointed out that the war would be mainly targeted at oil. If Iraq had not been rich in oil, the United States would have thought twice before going into the war.
    As is known, Iraq has an oil deposit of 112 billion barrels(M), ranking second in the world. The U.S.  Energy Information Administration estimates that an additional 220 billion barrels might be discovered in the deserts in western Iraq. If this estimation is true, Iraq will exceed Saudi Arabia to become the world’s No. 1 oil-rich country. By breaking down the Saddam regime, the United States got access to the oilfields, a victory that ensures its long term, stable oil supply. Washington’s intention has become evident through a series of initiatives it took after the war. The Iraq War was declared to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and to "liberate the Iraqi people". However, as soon as it occupied the country, Washington sent heavy troops to seize Iraq’s oilfields, turning a blind eye to its social chaos.
    To date, 63 of the 85 oilfields in Iraq have signed long-term contracts with U.S. multinationals. Under these contracts, up to $194 billion in Iraqi oil revenues are going to multinational oil companies, and no political force in Iraq can change these contracts. Obviously, the United States has become the biggest owner of Iraq’s oil interests. Observers pointed out that people have come to realize that the Iraq War actually resulted from oil, interests and possessiveness.
Game of Superpower
    The Iraq war is a big, unpredictable business deal for the United States, a rash experiment in Utopian democracy, and even a video game that only a superpower can afford to play. Bush may consider pulling the troops out as a last resort. But the Iraqis, who were deprived of homes, jobs and loved ones and might face a possible split of their country, have become perpetual victims of the bitter war. [br] If the estimates of the U.S. Energy Information Administration about oil reserve in the deserts in western Iraq are true, the deposit of oil in Iraq will amount to______ .
选项
答案 332 billion barrels
解析 根据Control of Oil Resources这一部分可知，伊拉克原来的石油储量是112 billion barrels，而美国能源信息部估计在伊拉克西部的沙漠中还有220 billion barrels的储量。因此，如果估计是正确的话，伊拉克的石油总储量应该是332 billion barrels，居世界第一。
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