2006年VOA标准英语-Lebanon Still Reeling From War, Assassinations

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
19 December 2006

The past year has been a particularly troubled time in Lebanon.  The country wrestled¹ with political instability following the assassination² of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, and the subsequent mass protest movement that led to the withdrawal³ of Syrian troops.  2006 was supposed to be a landmark⁴ year, when Lebanon was finally run by its own government, on its own terms.  But the sudden outbreak of war in July shattered Lebanon's fragile stability and exposed political rifts⁵ that had long lingered under the surface.  Middle East Correspondent Challiss McDonough looks at Lebanon's problems in this VOA yearend report.

 
An Israeli tank crosses into southern Lebanon from northern Israel Tuesday, August 1, 2006
It was supposed to be a good year, Lebanon's biggest tourist season ever, setting the economy firmly back on the path to recovery.

And then came the war.

On the July 12, Hezbollah fighters staged a raid across the Israeli border, capturing two Israeli soldiers.  Israeli troops and tanks pursued them back into Lebanon, crossing the border in large numbers for the first time since Israel withdrew from the country six years earlier. 

In the following days, the conflict widened.

 
Israeli air strikes on Beirut, Tuesday July 25, 2006
For 33 days, Israeli aircraft and ships bombed Hezbollah targets: the group's strongholds in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut.  Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets into northern Israel, and Israeli troops battled Hezbollah fighters on the ground inside Lebanon.

More than 1,000 Lebanese civilians⁷ were killed, and an unknown number of Hezbollah fighters.  Scenes like this one, when a woman collapsed⁸ in agony after learning of her brother's death, repeated themselves over and over.

 
Lebanese citizens carry their belongings⁹ as they walk through the rubble¹⁰ of destroyed apartment buildings, in the southern suburbs, in Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2006
Roughly one million residents of south Lebanon, nearly a quarter of the country's population, were displaced, taking shelter in the mountains and the north.  They lived in school classrooms, city parks, relatives' homes, the homes of kind strangers. 

Tens of thousands of people fled the country, including businessman Alec Yeverian and his family, who stood for hours waiting for an evacuation boat headed for Cyprus.

"I left Lebanon in 1975, when I was nine-years-old, and now I'm leaving with my children, 25 years later," he said.  "I came back six years ago from Canada, built enterprises here, built employment, and now everything is stopped.  What can I tell you?  It's awful, disastrous¹¹ for this country.  And I hope that it will be solved quickly, because these people don't deserve it."

The Israeli military bombed Lebanon's infrastructure¹² - bridges, roads, airport runways, ports and factories - so heavily that Economy and Trade Minister Sami Haddad said it was impossible to measure the impact.

"It is a massive disaster on all fronts," he said.  "First and foremost on the humanitarian¹³ front, and obviously on the economic and social front."

Even then, Haddad and other ministers said they feared the war would weaken their already fragile government coalition¹⁴, known as the March 14 Forces, which had been in power for only about a year, since Syrian troops withdrew in 2005. 

"How is this massive attack on Lebanon's civilian⁶ population and our economy, how is it helping¹⁵ our government, our democracy and our institutions?" he asked.

During the war, the March 14 government-led and the Hezbollah-led opposition¹⁶ temporarily set aside their differences in the name of national unity¹⁷ as the country faced the crisis.  Below the surface, however, analysts¹⁸ say the conflict sharpened already existing political differences.

In the months after the war, the disagreement and rancor¹⁹ between the two sides grew.  Hezbollah felt its hand had been strengthened by the war, and it pushed for more power in government.  In October, six opposition ministers resigned from the Cabinet, including all five Shi'ite representatives.

 
Pierre Gemayel 
Two events in November brought tensions to a peak.  The first was the assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, the sixth anti-Syrian politician killed in the last two years.  That heightened anger in the March 14 camp, especially among Christian²⁰ followers²¹ of Gemayel's Phalange party.

The second event followed just a week and a half later, when hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets in a mass antigovernment protest. 

The protests were led by Hezbollah, but with heavy participation²² from its main Christian ally, the Free Patriotic²³ Movement led by former General Michel Aoun.  The opposition wants what it calls a national unity government, in which it would have enough Cabinet seats to veto key decisions.

They also want a new electoral law and early parliamentary elections.  Analysts say this would likely strengthen the opposition bloc²⁴ and possible give them an outright²⁵ majority in parliament.

The March 14 Forces have their own demands.  They want a new president to replace the pro-Syrian Emil Lahoud, and an international tribunal to try those accused of assassinating²⁶ Gemayel, Hariri and other political figures.

Hezbollah expert Amal Saad-Ghorayeb is a visiting fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"So I think once an agreement is worked out, if and when it is worked out, it will necessarily have to include all these other outstanding issues as well, lest there be a buildup later on, and tensions again," he noted²⁷.  "Even if they form a national unity government and no other issue is resolved, at a later date these other issues will resurface.  So they have to solve them, I think, more or less at the same time."

 
Hezbollah-led protest in Beirut 1 Dec 06
As the protests went on, the rhetoric²⁸ on both sides grew nastier, and clashes broke out between supporters of rival factions²⁹, who in the Muslim community are largely divided along sectarian lines.  At least one Shi'ite opposition member was killed in fighting between Sunni government supporters and Shi'ite opposition activists³¹, raising new fears that Lebanon could slip back into sectarian civil war.  But Saad-Ghorayeb says the current political divide does not really fall along sectarian lines.

"I think it's very interesting that, as dangerous as this political divide currently is, I think one positive thing it's achieved is that you no longer see this very strict division between sect³⁰ and political party.  You do have crosscutting allegiances now, which never existed before," he explained.  "And this could, I think, to some extent promote less communally-based politics in the future, [and more] more issue-based politics, perhaps.  Perhaps we're seeing the emergence³² of that in a very nascent³³ form, that identity politics could be replaced with issue-based politics in the future."

If and when Lebanon's political crisis is resolved, other issues remain.  Postwar rebuilding has begun, but Hezbollah and the March 14 camp differ sharply over the reconstruction³⁴ plan.  In the final weeks of the year, thousands of families still have only U.N.-donated tents to shelter them from a bitterly cold winter.

1 wrestled   

v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤

参考例句：

• As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
• Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 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。

4 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

5 rifts   

n.裂缝( rift的名词复数 )；裂隙；分裂；不和

参考例句：

• After that, through the rifts in the inky clouds sparkled redder and yet more luminous particles. 然后在几条墨蓝色云霞的隙缝里闪出几个更红更亮的小片。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• The Destinies mend rifts in time as man etches fate. 当人类想要再次亵渎命运的时候，命运及时修正了这些裂痕。 来自互联网

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

8 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

9 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

10 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

11 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

12 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

13 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

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 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

18 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

19 rancor   

n.深仇，积怨

参考例句：

• I have no rancor against him.我对他无怨无仇。
• Their rancor dated from a political dogfight between them.他们的积怨来自于他们之间在政治上的狗咬狗。

20 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

21 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

22 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

23 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

24 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

25 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

26 assassinating   

v.暗杀( assassinate的现在分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• They struck a blow for freedom by assassinating the colonial governor. 他们为了自由而奋力一博，暗杀了那位殖民地总督。 来自互联网

27 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

28 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

29 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

30 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

31 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

33 nascent   

adj.初生的，发生中的

参考例句：

• That slim book showed the Chinese intelligentsia and the nascent working class.那本小册子讲述了中国的知识界和新兴的工人阶级。
• Despite a nascent democracy movement,there's little traction for direct suffrage.尽管有过一次新生的民主运动，但几乎不会带来直接选举。

34 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。