VOA标准英语2008年-Pakistan Opinion Poll Says Majority Does Not Su

By Ravi Khanna
Washington
11 January 2008
 

A recent public opinion poll in Pakistan indicates little support for Islamist militants², but also widespread mistrust of the United States. The poll was conducted last September before the assassination³ of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The Program on International Policy Attitudes at Maryland University and the Washington-based U.S. Institute of Peace sponsored the survey. VOA's Ravi Khanna has more.

The poll suggests that a large majority of Pakistanis has negative views of Islamist militant¹ groups such as al-Qaida and Taliban and considers them a threat. But at the same time, a majority also rejects military action against the militants, such as last year's assault on the Red Mosque⁴.

The survey concludes that contrary to the impression in the West, a majority of Pakistanis do not favor Islamic militants.

Clay Ramsay is the director of research at the Program on International Policy Attitudes.

"These findings suggest that there is strong public support for giving Islamic principles a greater role in governance,” Ramsay says, “but this does not mean support for extreme religious conservatism.  On the contrary there is significant support for reforms going in the opposite direction."

Steven Kull is another director with the program. He says some people believe that the opposition⁵ to President Musharraf and the United States has intensified⁶ because more Pakistanis favor religious militants.

"It does not appear to be rooted in some radical⁷ Islamist ideology," says Kul, "and it has not driven Pakistanis into the arms of Islamic militants."

Kull says there is no significant political constituency that is for or against the West or, for that matter, for or against the Islamists. "There is a small minority that is sympathetic to militant Islamists, and al-Qaida, but it is not a significant political constituency and it by no means is characteristic of the supporters of any of the major leaders, including Nawaz Sharif," Kull adds it is necessary for the U.S. to address the Pakistani people as a whole, because there is no specific group on which to focus.

He says researchers spoke⁸ with a wide variety of people, including supporters of President Musharraf and opposition leaders Nawaz Sharif and late Benazir Bhutto. All groups, he says, expressed lack of trust in the United States.

"The bad news is there is also no faction⁹ within the Pakistani political society that the United States can really turn to, that is sympathetic to it, that can be used as a kind of base to work from. All of these factions¹⁰ perceive the U.S. as a threat. Even Musharraf supporters have a very negative view of the U.S.," Kull says.

Kull said a large majority of all groups reject the idea that Pakistani government should allow U.S. troops to enter Pakistan to pursue and capture al-Qaida fighters. The New York Times recently reported the Bush administration is considering covert¹¹ action against al-Qaida and Taliban fighters hiding in Pakistan's tribal¹² areas.

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 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。

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 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

5 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。

6 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 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。

10 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

11 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

12 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。