VOA标准英语2010年-US Officials Outline Security, Other C

U.S. officials say they are encouraged that Yemen can be a full partner in the fight against al-Qaida, despite uneven¹ counter-terrorism cooperation in the past.  The top State Department official for Near Eastern affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, said Yemen's government faces security, economic and political challenges it must overcome with help from the U.S. and other partners, if efforts to prevent al-Qaida from expanding its influence are to succeed.

Assistant Secretary Feltman said Yemen received a clear message from the United States and other partners at the recent London conference on Yemen, that it must respond to security and other threats to its stability.

Pointing to the attempted Christmas U.S. airliner² bombing, Feltman listed bolstering³ security, establishing good governance, and economic development as the major challenges, none of which can be carried out to the exclusion⁴ of the others.

"It [the attempt] confirmed what many of us have known for years," said Jeffrey Feltman. "That the militant⁵ extremists in Yemen are able to operate in the unsettled environment there and threaten U.S. national security as well as interests of key allies."

The U.S. has ramped⁶ up counter-terrorist and economic aid, recognizing what Feltman called the "toxic⁷ effect" in Yemen of deteriorating⁸ governance, human-rights protections, and stagnant⁹ development.

For U.S. lawmakers, Yemen's importance was underscored by the training the December bombing suspect is quoted as saying he received from militants¹⁰ associated with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, and the links a U.S. Army psychiatrist¹¹ accused of murdering 12 soldiers and one civilian¹² had with a Yemeni-American cleric.

Committee Chairman Howard Berman said instability in Yemen poses both a regional and wider global threat requiring comprehensive engagement by the Obama administration.

"The more unstable¹³ Yemen becomes, the more likely it is that terrorism will thrive there, threatening U.S. regional interests and our homeland," said Howard Berman.

State Department counter-terrorism official Robert Godec said participants in the London conference on Yemen must ensure that momentum¹⁴ is not lost toward achieving a stable, secure and effectively-governed Yemen.

"As the government of Yemen grows more transparent¹⁵ and responsive, and Yemenis find hope for their future, the seeds of extremism and violence will find less fertile ground, and the threat of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula will truly recede," said Robert Godec.

Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen asked Godec and Feltman this question:

"Has the government of Yemen changed its strategic calculus¹⁶ and mindset about al-Qaida and other jihadists," said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. "Do we now have a true partner in fighting this threat?"

Opposition¹⁷ Republicans also used Wednesday's hearing to underscore their criticisms of Obama administration plans to eventually close the detention¹⁸ facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, noting that some former prisoners released from Guantanamo emerged as members or leaders of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

Christopher Boucek, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said civil war is accelerating Yemen's economic decline, while Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense¹⁹ of Democracies warned against increasing aid to Yemen without strict pre-conditions.

BOUCEK: "The civil war in [the northern province of] Saada is rapidly accelerating the economic collapse²⁰ of Yemen.  The country is spending in alarming rates, money that they don't have to spend on water, education, fighting al-Qaida, anything else."

SCHANZER:  "If Yemen continues to allow terrorists to roam free, the problems in Yemen will continue to mount and it is up to the Yemenis to fix this.  The government must prove it will put our taxpayer²¹ funds to good use rather than squander²² them as it has in recent years, the government must prove that it has a plan before we commit our taxpayer money."

Calling the situation in Yemen complex, difficult and dire²³, Bruce Riedel of The Brookings Institution warned against the U.S. becoming mired²⁴ in any expanded military presence or in Yemen's local conflicts.

"Al-Qaida wants to use Yemen to expand the global battle space against America, that is to stretch our resources even further, if possible to bog²⁵ the U.S. down in local conflicts in Yemen which can become quagmires²⁶, and through all of this relieve some of the pressure that the al-Qaida core in Pakistan and Afghanistan is  [facing] today," said Bruce Riedel.

CIA Director Leon Panetta told a Senate committee on Tuesday the situation in Yemen remains²⁷ volatile²⁸, with President Ali Abdallah Saleh facing internal rebellions.  Panetta said al-Qaida has turned to "regional nodes" such as Yemen, Somalia and the Maghreb as it continues efforts to strike the U.S.

Yemen would receive about $174 million in assistance from the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development under President Obama's proposed 2011 fiscal²⁹ year budget.  Yemen is receiving about $70 million in military aid in 2010.

Assistant Secretary Feltman told lawmakers the Obama administration does not expect to send Congress any supplemental aid request, on top of aid contained in the current budget. 

 

1 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

2 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

3 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句

4 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

5 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。

6 ramped   

土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• With the arrival of George Lucas, the pace has ramped up. 随着乔治·卢卡斯的到来，速度大大加快。
• They also sold corporate bonds as the global financial crisis ramped up. 在全球金融危机加剧之际，他们还抛售了公司债券。

7 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

8 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

9 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

10 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。

11 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

12 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。

13 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

14 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

15 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

16 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

17 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。

18 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

19 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。

20 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

21 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

22 squander   

v.浪费，挥霍

参考例句：

• Don't squander your time in reading those dime novels.不要把你的时间浪费在读那些胡编乱造的廉价小说上。
• Every chance is precious，so don't squander any chance away!每次机会都很宝贵，所以不要将任何一个白白放走。

23 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

24 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

25 bog   

n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖

参考例句：

• We were able to pass him a rope before the bog sucked him under.我们终于得以在沼泽把他吞没前把绳子扔给他。
• The path goes across an area of bog.这条小路穿过一片沼泽。

26 quagmires   

n.沼泽地，泥潭( quagmire的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The deer, looking soaked, leave quagmires, where they pass. 湿淋淋的野鹿经过的地方，留下了一个个的泥塘。 来自辞典例句

27 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。

28 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

29 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。