中东－叙利亚和黎巴嫩

 

Syria and Lebanon

 

Facing danger or resentment¹ in many parts of the world, vacationing Arabs flocked to Lebanon to relax amid lush scenery and hospitable² people. Booming real estate in Beirut and all-night partying in numberless cafes testified to a reborn Lebanon after long years of factional war.

 

Now with the assassination³ of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a major rebuilder of Lebanon, that rebirth is in jeopardy⁴ and memories of war are reviving. Can Lebanon plunge⁵ once again into chaos⁶?

 

At the heart of the matter is Syria, whose intervention⁷ helped end the fighting in 1990, but it has now outlived its welcome. Many Lebanese hold Syria responsible for Mr. Hariri's death, and while President Bush withholds⁸ judgment⁹, he urges Syria to remove its troops from Lebanon.

 

Until more is known, Syria remains¹⁰ a prime suspect in the assassination, though Lebanese security forces are also focused on a Palestinian refugee who had threatened Mr. Hariri. Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle Eastern and international affairs at Sarah Lawrence College, says whatever its actual role in the bombing, Syria cannot escape involvement.

 

Professor Gerges: If Syria maintains security and stability in the country, how come such a major security breach¹¹ like the assassination of Hariri could have taken place? So regardless of whether Syria had a role in the assassination of Hariri or not, it seems to me the fact that such a major blast can take place in the heart of Beirut tells us that somehow Syrian security control of the country is extremely tenuous¹².

 

That is why Syria should withdraw altogether from Lebanon, says Professor Gerges. Its presence has become a liability. Lebanon is now strong enough to stand on its own as a sovereign nation.

 

Professor Gerges: Lebanon has come a long way since the end of its civil war in 1990. While initially¹³ you might say that Lebanon needed Syria in the early 1990's to help put its house in order, I think Lebanon now has the military forces to maintain law and order. The Lebanese have matured a great deal in the last 14 years. I think the Lebanese have learned some lessons from the dark days of the civil war, which lasted from 1975 to 1990.

 

But the Syrians may be growing more assertive¹⁴ over Lebanon, not less, says John Voll, director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University in Washington.

 

Professor Voll: One of my concerns with the murder of former Prime Minister Hariri is that it becomes clearer now that the Syrian role in Lebanon is shifting from essentially¹⁵ a police force, a stability force, into a more pro-active force that is trying to redefine what would be the power structure of Lebanese politics, and that I think becomes dangerous.

 

Professor Voll says Syria is reacting in part to the American occupation of Iraq, which has brought a major shift in the power relations of the region. Syria wonders where to go from here, adds Professor Voll. That explains its move toward closer ties with Iran. If Syria is unrelenting, says Professor Voll, its supporters in Lebanon could come to blows with the opposition¹⁶. In that case, it would not be a replay of the previous civil war.

 

Professor Voll: If there were a reversion to a really high level of violence, the groups that would be fighting each other would represent a very different kind of configuration¹⁷ from what they were in the 1980's before the peace settlement. Nowadays you would have Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims and Maronite Christians¹⁸ that benefit from Syria's presence, and there are Sunni Shiites and Maronites that would like to get rid of Syria.

 

The Lebanese landscape is deeply polarized between those who support and those who oppose Syria, agrees Professor Gerges. All the more reason not to push Syria too far.

 

Professor Gerges: Syria believes that Lebanon is a last refuge, it feels threatened. It feels targeted. It feels besieged¹⁹, and this is why Syria is determined²⁰ to stay in the country because it would like to use Lebanon as a deterrent²¹ force and a bargaining chip with Israel and the United States.

 

Now is the time for a Syrian withdrawal²² from Lebanon, says Professor Gerges, but it should be accomplished²³ by diplomacy²⁴ without causing Damascus to cling more tightly to an unacceptable status quo.

 

For focus, this is Ed Warner.

 

注释：

resentment [ri5zentmEnt] n. 愤怒；憎恨

lush [lQF] adj. 茂盛的，舒服的

testify to 见证

factional [5fAkFEnEl] adj. 派系的，小派别的

assassination [E7sAsi5neiFEn] n. 暗杀

jeopardy [5dVepEdi] n. 危险

chaos [5keiCs] n. 混乱

focus on 集中

sovereign [5sCvrin] adj. 独立自主的

Shiite [5Fi:ait] n. 什叶派

Sunni [5suni:] n. 逊尼派

Maronite [5mArEnait] n. [宗]（流行于黎巴嫩的天主教教派）马龙派

polarize [5pEJlEraiz] v. （使）两极分化

deterrent [di5terEnt] adj. 阻碍的

Damascus [dE5mAskEs] n. 大马士革（叙利亚首都）

status quo [steitEs 5kwEu] n. 现状

1 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

2 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。

3 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

4 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

5 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

8 withholds   

v.扣留( withhold的第三人称单数 )；拒绝给予；抑制（某事物）；制止

参考例句：

• Marketing success or failure is directly traceable to the support that top management gives or withholds. 市场营销的成败直接归因于最高管理层能否给予支持。 来自辞典例句
• I lie awake fuming-isn't It'supposed to be the woman who withholds favours? 我干躺在那儿，气得睡不着：不应该是女人才会拿性作为要挟吗？ 来自互联网

9 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 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。

11 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

12 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。

13 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

14 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

15 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

16 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。

17 configuration   

n.结构，布局，形态，(计算机)配置

参考例句：

• Geographers study the configuration of the mountains.地理学家研究山脉的地形轮廓。
• Prices range from $119 to $199,depending on the particular configuration.价格因具体配置而异，从119美元至199美元不等。

18 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

19 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

20 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

21 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

22 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

23 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

24 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。