Looming：逼近的，迫在眉睫的

11月7日，在伊拉克首都巴格达以西的“反美力量大本营”费卢杰市，伊拉克政府军士兵与美军执行围剿任务。伊拉克临时政府发言人纳吉卜当天宣布，为了保证明年1月全国大选顺利举行，伊拉克进入为期60天的紧急状态。据新华社报道：US armored vehicles were seen moving toward Fallujah late Sunday, as Iraq's interim government declared a state of emergency for two months.

Witnesses said tanks and humvees positioned west of Fallujah, 50km west of Baghdad, started to move toward the edge of the city, the soldiers were spraying cannon over the bare field.

US marines and Iraqi forces surrounding Fallujah were gearing up for a major offensive on the city, where people had piled up sandbags and placed roadblocks in the streets to face a looming invasion.

Looming表示“逼近的，迫在眉睫的”，因为loom有“隐约出现；（危险、忧虑等）阴森地临近”的意思。例如：Fear of failure loomed large in his mind.（害怕失败的情绪沉重地压在他的心头。）A hard struggle looms ahead.（一场苦斗迫在眉睫。）

据悉，驻伊美军8日凌晨突入费卢杰西部，夺取了该城主要医院和两座幼发拉底河上的重要桥梁，展开了总攻费卢杰的第一阶段攻势。美国媒体分析称，拥有30万人口、清真寺遍布的费卢杰不仅已经成为伊拉克中部逊尼派穆斯林的反美大本营，而且日益成为吸引全世界反美力量的磁石。因此，美军要在伊拉克站住脚，必须彻底铲除在费卢杰的大约3000名反美武装人员，以达到“杀一儆百”的目的。