VOA标准英语2011-Hezbollah Tribunal Move Is Transparent Ef

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday said the effort by Hezbollah to undermine the U.N.-backed tribunal in Lebanon is a transparent¹ effort to subvert² justice that is destined³ to fail. Clinton discussed the Lebanese government crisis with U.S. Gulf⁴ allies in Doha.

The collapse⁵ of the Lebanese coalition⁶ government, triggered by the resignation of Hezbollah and other cabinet members, unfolded as Clinton consulted U.S. Gulf allies in Oman and Qatar on the crisis.

At press event in Qatar, Clinton used her strongest language to date to condemn⁸ the maneuver⁹ by the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia¹⁰ and political party, calling it an obvious move by Hezbollah and "interests outside Lebanon" to subvert and undermine the country's stability and progress.

The cabinet crisis came as the U.N.-backed tribunal on the 2005 assassination¹¹ of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri prepared to issue indictments¹² expected to include Hezbollah officials.

Obama administration officials see it as a bid by Hezbollah to end Lebanese government support for the tribunal and discredit¹³ the inquiry¹⁴. But Clinton, speaking with Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin⁷ Jassim Al-Thani, said the effort will not succeed.

"Trying to bring the government down as a way to undermine the tribunal is an abdication¹⁵ of the responsibility, but it also will not work," said the U.S. secretary of state. "This tribunal is a creation of the United Nations and the Security Council. It is supported by many governments including my own. Its work will continue, and it is important that as the Prime Minister and I discussed, we work with the Lebanese government, the Lebanese people and our other partners who share our interests in pursuing both stability and justice in Lebanon."

Al-Thani, who doubles as the country's foreign minister, said Qatar has no plans to mediate¹⁶ as it did in previous Lebanese cabinet crises, but said he hoped a Saudi effort to enlist¹⁷ Syria to restrain Hezbollah can still yield results.

"We support the Saudi-Syrian initiative and we have out trust in both leaders," said Al-Thani. "We trust [Saudi] King Abdullah as a person who seeks a solution on a just basis, which will do justice to all parties and to avoid Lebanon slipping into conflict again."

Clinton, who met separately with Qatari leaders and then held a broader meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers, said the tribunal investigation¹⁸ is not just about the death of former Prime Minister Hariri, but also the 22 others killed in the enormous car bomb blast in Beirut.

"What about all the other families and all the other people who came from across Lebanon? So this really goes to a very important point, which is that Lebanon needs now to rally behind its own interests. The Lebanese people need to get beyond political party. And it's not political parties that would be put on trial, it's individuals, who would either be found guilty or innocent of having plotted and carried out such a horrific crime," said Clinton.

A senior U.S. official who briefed reporters traveling with Clinton said Hezbollah staged the cabinet walkout as a "preemptive move" against the tribunal and its pending¹⁹ indictments.

He called Hezbollah efforts to discredit the inquiry, as, among other things, U.S. and Israeli-inspired, "rather specious²⁰."

He noted²¹ that while withdrawing its cabinet members, the Shiite movement has not sent its supporters into the streets to paralyze Beirut as it did in previous crises in 2006 and 2008. He said such tactics backfired and "tainted" Hezbollah's reputation in Lebanon and much of the Middle East

1 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。

2 subvert   

v.推翻；暗中破坏；搅乱

参考例句：

• The rebel army is attempting to subvert the government.反叛军队企图颠覆政府统治。
• They tried to subvert our state and our Party. This is the crux of the matter.他们是要颠覆我们的国家，颠覆我们的党，这是问题的实质。

3 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

4 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。

5 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。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

8 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

9 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

10 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

11 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。

12 indictments   

n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告

参考例句：

• A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网

13 discredit   

vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑

参考例句：

• Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
• They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。

14 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

15 abdication   

n.辞职；退位

参考例句：

• The officers took over and forced his abdication in 1947.1947年军官们接管了政权并迫使他退了位。
• Abdication is precluded by the lack of a possible successor.因为没有可能的继承人，让位无法实现。

16 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

17 enlist   

vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍

参考例句：

• They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
• The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会，支持他们的正义斗争。

18 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

19 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

20 specious   

adj.似是而非的；adv.似是而非地

参考例句：

• Such talk is actually specious and groundless.这些话实际上毫无根据，似是而非的。
• It is unlikely that the Duke was convinced by such specious arguments.公爵不太可能相信这种似是而非的论点。

21 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。