VOA标准英语2008年-Debate Intensifies About Possible Military Atta

There has been wide-ranging debate in Washington and the Middle East recently regarding the possibility of a military attack on Iran's nuclear program. The war of words between the United States, Israel and Iran has escalated¹ and has military and political experts considering the consequences. VOA Correspondent Meredith Buel has more in this background report from Washington.

Top officials in the White House and Pentagon believe Iran is continuing on a path to build nuclear weapons, but estimates vary on when Tehran could complete the components² for an actual bomb.

World powers have been pressing Iran to stop its uranium-enrichment program and have offered a new set of incentives³ for the Tehran government to back away from a plan that could lead to nuclear weapons.
　
President George W. Bush, 06 Jul 2008

U.S. President George Bush has repeatedly committed to diplomacy⁴ as the first choice to curb⁵ Iran's nuclear program, but he has also consistently declined to rule out the use of military force.

"I have always said that all options are on the table," said President Bush. "But the first option for the United States is to solve this problem diplomatically."

Debate on the issue of a military campaign against Iran skyrocketed in recent weeks and the rhetoric⁶ is getting hotter.

No one is advancing a timetable for military action, but former State Department official Elizabeth Cheney, a daughter of the vice⁷ president, says the United States will not tolerate a nuclear Iran.

"We can not live with it," she said. "It is an existential threat to Israel. It is a significant threat to American national security."

While military action against Iran is being debated, other activity has been underway in the Middle East.

American and allied⁸ naval⁹ forces just concluded a series of military exercises in the Persian Gulf¹⁰. The U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet says the drill was aimed at protecting oil installations.

A top Iranian official recently threatened to shutdown strategic oil shipping¹¹ lanes and Iran's Revolutionary Guards are also engaged in highly visible training maneuvers¹².
　
An Iranian Shahab 3 missile rises into the air after being test-fired at an undisclosed location in the Iranian desert, 09 Jul 2008

Tehran is also testing ballistic missiles and Iranian officials say some of those weapons could reach Israel and other U.S. allies in the region.

Last month, the Israeli Air Force carried out large-scale exercises that were believed by many analysts¹³ to be a rehearsal¹⁴ for a possible attack against Iranian nuclear facilities.

The Executive Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Robert Satloff, says Iranian nuclear weapons would be disastrous¹⁵.

"It would inflame¹⁶ a regional arms race," he said. "It would perhaps, lead to terrorists getting nuclear weapons, it is a huge danger. For Israel, the danger is exponentially worse. A regime whose leaders have publicly committed to destroying the state of Israel are spending their national wealth to acquire the means to implement¹⁷ that threat."

Iran denies it has a nuclear-weapons program and says it is enriching uranium to be used for generating electricity.

Tehran has responded to the incentives package presented by the European Union, and E.U. representatives say they hope to resume negotiations¹⁸ later this month.
　
Manouchehr Mottaki, 19 Jun 2008

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says he does not believe there will be war between Iran and the United States or Israel.

"The Israeli government is facing a political breakdown¹⁹ within itself and within the region, so we do not foresee such a possibility for that regime to resort to such craziness," he said. "The United States, too, is not in a position where it can engage in, take another risk, in the region."

Military analysts say an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would be complicated, quite unlike the one-time strikes Israel did in Iraq in 1981 and more recently in Syria.

Given the commitment of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, America's top military officer, Joint²⁰ Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen, says an attack on Iran would be difficult.

"Opening up a third front right now would be extremely stressful on us," he said. "That does not mean we do not have capacity or reserve, but that would really be very challenging. And also the consequences of that sometimes are very difficult to predict."

Those consequences are likely to include retaliation²¹ from Iran. Officials say Israel and the U.S. naval fleet in the Persian Gulf would be the first targets if the country were attacked.

With President Bush in his last year in office, Middle East experts like Rob Satloff say time may be running out on definitive²² action.

"I think people are looking to President Bush to see whether there will be any finality on the Iran issue under his watch or whether he merely hands off the issue to a successor," he said. "And finality, few things are more final than an act of military force."

Military analysts say an attack on Iran would require a sustained campaign that would target the countries' retaliatory²³ capabilities²⁴ first and then strike the nuclear targets.

　

 

1 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

2 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

3 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

4 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

5 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

6 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。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

9 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

10 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。

11 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

12 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

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 inflame   

v.使燃烧；使极度激动；使发炎

参考例句：

• Our lack of response seemed to inflame the colonel.由于我们没有反应,好象惹恼了那个上校。
• Chemical agents manufactured by our immune system inflame our cells and tissues,causing our nose to run and our throat to swell.我们的免疫系统产生的化学物质导致我们的细胞和组织发炎，导致我们流鼻水和我们的喉咙膨胀。

17 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。

18 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

19 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

20 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。

21 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

23 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

24 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