2006年VOA标准英语-Iran's President Uses Nationalism to Rally

By Bill Rodgers
Washington, DC
02 March 2006
 
watch Iran Crisis report

Iran's disputed nuclear program is at the center of a brewing¹ international crisis that some say has been aggravated² by the words and actions of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Some analysts⁴ say the Iranian leader is hoping to use the current standoff with the West over the nuclear issue to rally nationalist support behind his government.

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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
  

It was the long and bloody⁵ war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s that seems to have profoundly influenced Mr. Ahmadinejad, the former revolutionary guard who last year became Iran's president.  In his presidential campaign, Mr. Ahmadinejad cited the sacrifices of those killed in the conflict and played to the nostalgia⁶ felt by some for the religious fervor⁷ that prevailed during the war and in the early years of the country's Islamic revolution.   

Since becoming president, Mr. Ahmadinejad has emphasized nationalism to rally support for his government, according to Patrick Clawson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "Ahmadinejad has been very clever as a politician in realizing that the way to rekindle⁸ fervor among ordinary Iranians is by appealing to their proud nationalist sentiments -- that you can't really rely on Islam or for that matter the Islamic revolution to get ordinary Iranians excited.  But nationalism, that works well."

In recent weeks, he has led rallies to protest the negative Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.  He also has frequently called for Israel's destruction while reaching out to Hamas as it tries to form a new Palestinian government. 

But it is Iran's disputed nuclear program that appears to have given him the most nationalistic traction⁹. Iran says its program is for civilian¹⁰ purposes and claims the right to have full control over the uranium enrichment process.  However, the United States and other Western nations worry that Tehran wants to use the enrichment process to make nuclear weapons.

The International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report this week saying it could not determine if Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons because the country is still not fully¹¹ cooperating with its probe. 

Adam Ereli (file photo)   
  
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli says the agency's report shows why the United States and other countries are concerned. "Contrary to commitments made to the Europeans and others, and contrary to its treaty obligations, Iran is engaged in enrichment activity on its territory and that is of serious concern to all of us and frankly¹², that is why Iran finds itself in the mess that it is in."

But in the streets of Tehran there was some support for Mr. Ahmadinejad's stance.  Following the news in early February that the International Atomic Energy Agency decided¹³ to report Iran to the UN Security Council for possible action, some Iranians reacted defiantly¹⁴. 

 
Iranian student 
  
One student reacted by saying, "Iran, I think, is independent and during this 20 years after the Revolution it's proven that we can be self-sufficient from other countries so there's nothing wrong with it."

Analyst³ Clawson says the Iranian leader's tactic¹⁵ may pay off.  "If Iran can continue with its nuclear program, largely unrestricted, and Iran does not face serious repercussions¹⁶ from the outside world, then Ahmadinejad's confrontational¹⁷ policies will have been seen to be successful."

Gareth Evans  
  
Former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, of the non-governmental International Crisis Group, is among some calling for a new strategy.  He says Washington should offer security guarantees and other incentives¹⁸ to Iran in return for strict and intrusive¹⁹ inspections²⁰ of its nuclear facilities and other concessions²¹. He warns if all else fails, there could be war.

"The remaining alternative is military action, preventive military action of the kind that generated the Iraq war in 2003.  And here we argue that this is just really completely unthinkable."

Meanwhile, an Iranian delegation²² arrived for talks in Moscow this week as Russia made a last attempt to wring²³ concessions from Iran on the uranium enrichment issue. 

The next step could come soon when the UN Security Council meets to discuss Iran's case. 

1 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

2 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 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。

5 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

6 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

7 fervor   

n.热诚；热心；炽热

参考例句：

• They were concerned only with their own religious fervor.他们只关心自己的宗教热诚。
• The speech aroused nationalist fervor.这个演讲喚起了民族主义热情。

8 rekindle   

v.使再振作；再点火

参考例句：

• Nothing could rekindle her extinct passion.她激情已逝,无从心回意转。
• Is there anything could rekindle his extinct passion?有什么事情可重燃他逝去的热情呢？

9 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

10 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。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

16 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 confrontational   

adj.挑衅的；对抗的

参考例句：

• Fans love rappers partly because they strike such a confrontational pose. 乐迷热爱这些饶舌艺人一定程度上是因为他们所采取的那种战斗姿态。 来自互联网
• You prefer a non confrontational approach when it comes to resolving disputes. 面对争端，你不喜欢采用对抗性的手段来解决。 来自互联网

18 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

19 intrusive   

adj.打搅的；侵扰的

参考例句：

• The cameras were not an intrusive presence.那些摄像机的存在并不令人反感。
• Staffs are courteous but never intrusive.员工谦恭有礼却从不让人感到唐突。

20 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

22 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

23 wring   

n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭

参考例句：

• My socks were so wet that I had to wring them.我的袜子很湿，我不得不拧干它们。
• I'll wring your neck if you don't behave!你要是不规矩，我就拧断你的脖子。