美国开始向叙利亚反对派提供武器

 　　WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The United States has begun delivering weapons to Syrian rebels over the past two weeks, which marks "a major escalation¹ of the U.S. role" in the Syria conflict, a report said.

　　The move by the U.S. spy agency the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) ended months of delay in lethal² aid that the Obama administration promised long ago, a report published on the Washington Post's website quoted U.S. officials and Syrian figures as saying on Wednesday.

　　The shipments of weapons were delivered to Syrian rebels together with separate deliveries by the State Department of vehicles and other gear, the report said.

　　The arms shipments are limited to light weapons and other munitions³ that can be tracked, and the U.S. hopes that they "will boost the profile and prowess of rebel fighters in a conflict that started about 2 1/2 years ago."

　　New types of nonlethal gear, including vehicles, sophisticated communications equipment and advanced combat medical kits⁴, are also being shipped to the rebels, at a time when the Obama administration is threatening to attack Syrian government for its alleged⁵ chemical attack on Aug. 21, that the U.S. claims killed more than 1,400 people near the capital of Damascus.

　　The latest U.S. aid is aimed at supporting rebel fighters under the command of Salim Idriss, head of the Supreme⁶ Military Council, a faction⁷ of the disjointed armed opposition⁸, the report said.

　　The Obama administration pledged in April to provide arms to Syrian rebels, but such efforts have lagged due to fears that these weapons could fall into hands of the extremist militants⁹ fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

　　The CIA shipments of arms flow through a network of clandestine¹⁰ bases in Turkey and Jordan, the report said.

　　A Syrian opposition official was quoted as saying that the U.S. remains¹¹ reluctant to provide the rebels what they most desire: antitank and antiaircraft weapons.

1 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

2 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

3 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

4 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

5 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

10 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。