2006年VOA标准英语-US Lawmakers Impatient With Syria

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
07 June 2006

U.S. lawmakers are expressing impatience¹ their with Syria's continuing support for terrorist groups, as well as its close links with Iran. A hearing examined the effectiveness of unilateral U.S. sanctions imposed on the Syrian government two years ago and a recent crackdown on Syrian political activists².

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Two years ago, Congress approved the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, aimed at stepping up pressure on the Syrian government.

The law directed the Bush administration to impose economic sanctions and other punitive³ measures, and was designed to help force Syria to end its decades-long occupation of Lebanon.

Steps included prohibiting most U.S. exports to Syria, restricting diplomatic contacts and blocking Syrian aircraft from the United States. However, the administration held off on implementing⁵ more severe steps that would have affected⁶ existing U.S. oil investments, and Congress gave the president the power to waive⁷ [not enforce] parts of the law for national security reasons.

But although Syria withdrew its military from Lebanon amid international pressure, Syrian officials are suspected of having had a hand in the assassination⁸ of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, although Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied this.
 

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen  
  
As Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen sees it, the government in Damascus has done nothing to address principal complaints the regarding its support of terrorism and weapons programs.

"Syria harbors Islamist terrorists at home and sponsors them abroad," said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. "Syria also continues to allow Iran to use Damascus as a trans-shipment point to re-supply Hezbollah in Lebanon. Regrettably the Syrian-Iran alliance extends into other problematic areas, such as proliferation."

Syrian authorities have recently cracked down on prominent writers, political opponents and human rights activists.

A Syrian Human Rights group reported Wednesday that a military court sentenced writer Mohammed Ghanem to one year in prison, reduced to six months, on charges including insulting Syrian president Bashar Assad, and inciting⁹ sectarian divisions.

Farid Ghadry, who heads the U.S.-based exile Reform Party of Syria, says internal opposition¹⁰ to President Assad remains¹¹ stifled¹², exile opposition divided, and U.S. policies inconsistent.

In addition to gathering¹³ international support, he advocates a stronger and highly visible stance by the Bush administration and Congress supporting democratic changes in Syria.

"To actually call for democracy and freedom for the Syrian people, to actually call [for] rescinding¹⁴ some of the laws, to lifting the emergency laws in Syria," said Farid Ghadry. "Then you would bring the Syrian people to your side. Once you do that, the pressure will be tremendously immense on the system."

Theodore Kattouf was U.S. Ambassador to Syria from 2001 to 2003.

"Many if not most Syrians would welcome a much more open and democratic society, and a leadership that while nationalistic, was far less oppressive," said Theodore Kattouf. "But my strong sense is that they also want change to be brought about through their own efforts and managed in a way that prevents sectarian bloodletting and even civil war."

As for the effectiveness of the Syria Accountability Act, lawmakers are concerned that the Bush administration has not moved with sufficient speed to implement⁴ the most punitive measures.
 

Eliot Engel  
  
Congressman¹⁵ Eliot Engel says Syria continues to defy on other conditions in the law, such as ending support for terrorism, and stopping militants¹⁶ from entering Iraq. He says the Bush administration, which said it was waiting to gather support from other nations before implementing stronger measures, must act now.

"The delay I believe is no longer acceptable," said Eliot Engel. "The time has come to impose the full range of penalties envisioned in the act. And if we don't do it in conjunction with other countries, we should absolutely do it alone, right now."

However, David Schenker, a former Defense¹⁷ Department adviser¹⁸ and now Senior Fellow in Arab Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says efforts by Congress and the administration to turn up the heat [on Damascus] have been hampered¹⁹ by distractions²⁰, such as Iraq, and would confront well-known Syrian resistance to outside pressure.

""Even if the administration had implemented²¹ the entire menu of sanctions available under the Syrian Accountability Act, it would likely not be sufficient to pressure the Syrians to change some of their key problematic policies," said David Schenker. "Can we expect modifications²² at the margins²³? Possibly. Significant policy changes? Not likely."

Maurice Deeb, with the Johns Hopkins University School of Advance International Studies emphasizes the importance of working through the United Nations:

The U.N. is absolutely important, and of course the EU is part of it," said Maurice Deeb.

In one of the latest examples of the impact of the Syria Accountability Act, reports said the U.S. Marathon Oil Company will be selling off its existing oil and gas exploration investment in Syria because of fears the Bush administration will move to toughen sanctions under the legislation.

President Bush this week formally extended the export ban under the Syria Accountability Act, and continued a freeze on bank accounts of Syrians supporting terrorist organizations.

1 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

2 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》

3 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

4 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

5 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 waive   

vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等)

参考例句：

• I'll record to our habitat office waive our claim immediately.我立即写信给咱们的总公司提出放弃索赔。
• In view of the unusual circumstances,they agree to waive their requirement.鉴于特殊情况，他们同意放弃他们的要求。

8 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。

9 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

10 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。

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。

12 stifled   

（使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵

参考例句：

• The gas stifled them. 煤气使他们窒息。
• The rebellion was stifled. 叛乱被镇压了。

13 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

14 rescinding   

v.废除，取消( rescind的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• You realize this effectively kills any chance we have of rescinding that order. 你意识到了这样我们就没机会废除这一命令？ 来自电影对白

15 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

16 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。

17 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

18 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

19 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

20 distractions   

n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱

参考例句：

• I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难，因为使人分心的事太多。
• There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多，使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

22 modifications   

n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变

参考例句：

• The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型，然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。