VOA标准英语2008年-Pressure Tightens on Iran Over Nuclear Program

Iran is coming under increasing pressure over its nuclear ambitions. The West has offered new incentives¹ to coax² Iran into halting uranium enrichment, while the European Union has levied³ new economic sanctions. As VOA Correspondent Gary Thomas reports, hovering⁴ over the diplomatic process is the implied threat of military action.
　
Iranian missile on display during military parade in Tehran, 17 Apr 2008 (file)

The Bush administration continues to maintain the Iran nuclear issue can be resolved diplomatically. But the threat of military action, while never explicitly⁵ stated, appears to hang over the diplomatic maneuvering⁶. Talk of an attack on Iran, which seemed to ebb⁷ and flow in recent months, has again surfaced.

Details of a recent military exercise by the Israeli air force were leaked to U.S. and British newspapers, and unnamed U.S. and Israeli officials were quoted as saying the maneuvers⁸ appeared to be a possible dress rehearsal⁹ for air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Some analysts¹¹ believe the Israeli exercises were aimed at putting pressure on the United States to act against Iran.

An Iran affairs analyst¹⁰ at the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, Ken¹² Katzman, says Israel is getting increasingly impatient over the failure to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.

"Now, obviously, Israel is getting progressively more serious by the day, and that has to be factored in. I think, Israel is trying to say, 'Well, somebody better do something. Otherwise, we are going to have to do it. So why do not you all go ahead and do it?' I mean, I think Israel is basically signaling that something is going to have to start working very soon," he said.

Military analysts say Israel cannot strike Iran without American cooperation. A former senior State Department intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia, Wayne White, points out that Iran is out of the range of Israeli bombers¹³, at least without midair refueling.

"The Israelis at that range have a problem. Their [air] strike package is limited. And they would be able to hit certain key nodes of the nuclear infrastructure¹⁴, but they would not really be able to take it out to a degree that it would be set back many years," he said.

An analysis by the private intelligence firm Stratfor says midair refueling would in all likelihood have to take place over Iraq, and Iraqi airspace is still under U.S. control. That means, Stratfor says, that the United States would be complicit, even if the official version was that it was a unilateral Israeli strike.

Most analysts concur¹⁵ that attacking Iran would not be a matter of a one-time strike against its nuclear facilities, as Israel did in Iraq in 1981 and more recently in Syria.

The U.S. chairman of the Joint¹⁶ Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen is headed to Israel, where a Pentagon spokesman says he will discuss Iran with Israeli officials, but that that would be one of many issues under review. The spokesman emphasized a preference for diplomatic and economic pressures over military options.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy just published a paper called "The Last Resort". It is the first policy paper by a major non-governmental U.S. research institution to publicly examine the strategy and consequences of what it calls preventive military action against Iran.

In a forum¹⁷ introducing the paper, co-author Michael Eisenstadt, emphasized that they do not advocate what he calls "preventive military action" against Iran. But should it occur, he added, it is likely to be a protracted¹⁸ affair.

"Prevention would entail¹⁹ significant challenges, significant uncertainties²⁰, and probably would require multiple strikes over time, if it is to impose significant damage and delay on Iran's program, because different aspects of its infrastructure are running on a different timeline, and because presumably there is a good chance they will try to rebuild. And, therefore, to ensure the success of the policy, you might have to hit again," he said.

Wayne White, now with the Middle East Institute, says hitting the nuclear facilities would not happen in a first strike.

"We know that the op [operations] plan calls for a huge aerial campaign of 1,500 to 2,000 sorties [aerial missions], which probably in its early stages would be not hitting the nuclear targets. It would be taking out all of Iran's retaliatory²¹ capabilities²² in the Gulf²³ - anti-ship missiles, the air force, submarines, stuff like that - in order to make sure they do not fire back and start hammering the Gulf states or our fleet units and things like that," he said.

Eisenstadt says success of an aerial campaign cannot be judged merely on the physical damage inflicted²⁴. "To measure the success of the policy, the criteria²⁵, the real factor, is whether Iran decides to rebuild or not. That is really the crucial consideration," he said.

White says such an outcome is far from assured, and that an attack may only re-inforce Iran's ambitions to be a nuclear-weapons power.

"The Iranians may be taking a lot of lab equipment, a lot of expertise²⁶, planning, things that they can take away, and pocketing it somewhere for the very purpose of reconstituting and going for a nuclear weapon if they are hit," he said.

Analysts add that Iran could retaliate²⁷ in any number of ways, including through terrorist attacks on U.S. and Israeli civilian²⁸ targets and attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq.

 

1 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

2 coax   

v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取

参考例句：

• I had to coax the information out of him.我得用好话套出他掌握的情况。
• He tried to coax the secret from me.他试图哄骗我说出秘方。

3 levied   

征（兵）( levy的过去式和过去分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税

参考例句：

• Taxes should be levied more on the rich than on the poor. 向富人征收的税应该比穷人的多。
• Heavy fines were levied on motoring offenders. 违规驾车者会遭到重罚。

4 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

5 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

6 maneuvering   

v.移动，用策略( maneuver的现在分词 )；操纵

参考例句：

• This Manstein did, with some brilliant maneuvering under the worse winter conditions. 曼施坦因在最恶劣的严冬条件下，出色地施展了灵活机动的战术，终于完成了任务。 来自辞典例句
• In short, large goals required farsighted policies, not tactical maneuvering. 一句话，大的目标需要有高瞻远瞩的政策，玩弄策略是不行的。 来自辞典例句

7 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。

8 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

9 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

10 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。

11 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。

12 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

13 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 concur   

v.同意，意见一致，互助，同时发生

参考例句：

• Wealth and happiness do not always concur.财富与幸福并非总是并存的。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done.我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。

16 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

17 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

18 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 entail   

vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要

参考例句：

• Such a decision would entail a huge political risk.这样的决定势必带来巨大的政治风险。
• This job would entail your learning how to use a computer.这工作将需要你学会怎样用计算机。

20 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

21 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

22 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

23 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

24 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

25 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

26 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

27 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

28 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。