VOA标准英语2011--Obama Tells Syria's Assad to Lead Transi

Obama Tells Syria's Assad to Lead Transition or Leave

In his Middle East policy speech, President Barack Obama said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad faces the choice of either leading a democratic transition in his country or getting out of the way. The comment came a day after the U.S. administration imposed sanctions on the Syrian leader and key aides.
President Barack Obama's comments stopped short of an outright¹ demand Syria's leader step down. But the remarks were another sign of diminishing U.S. patience with President Bashar al-Assad, whose reform promises have been contradicted by an ongoing² brutal³ crackdown on protesters.
"The Syrian people have shown their courage in demanding a transition to democracy," said Obama. "President Assad now has a choice: he can lead that transition, or get out of the way. The Syrian government must stop shooting demonstrators and allow peaceful protests, release political prisoners and stop unjust arrests, they must allow human rights monitors to have access to cities like Daraa, and start a serious dialogue to advance a democratic transition."
President Obama said Syria has followed its ally Iran and sought assistance from Tehran in what he termed the "tactics of suppression." He said that speaks to the "hypocrisy⁴ of the Iranian regime," which he says professes⁵ support for the rights of protesters abroad, but suppresses its people at home.
On the eve of President Obama's speech, the administration announced new sanctions on Syria that for the first time directly target President Assad and key advisers⁶.
The measures, which freeze any U.S. assets the Syrians may have and forbid U.S. business dealings with them, may have little immediate⁷ effect on al-Assad.
But analysts⁸ say the U.S. action has high symbolic⁹ value, and could lead to major hardship for the Syrian ruling circle if the European Union, as expected, follows the U.S. lead in expanding sanctions.
Middle East expert Robert Satloff, the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says the Obama language is an "important step" toward a flat U.S. demand for Syrian regime change, and says it is highly unlikely that al-Assad will heed¹⁰ calls for reform.
"I think the more powerful message is that the administration has begun what is an almost-inexorable move toward calling on Assad to leave," Satloff explained. "If the administration is indeed serious that the standard for Syria will be reform towards an open, democratic, human-rights-respecting government, or leave, I think it is absolutely improbable that Assad will meet that standard."
Satloff said whether or when U.S. policy moves to a demand for the president to step down depends largely on whether Syrian crowds continue to defy the regime. Satloff added that said by personally targeting Assad in sanctions, the Obama administration may be testing whether the Syrian army or political elite¹¹ might be inclined turn against the President.
In his address, President Obama said unless the Syrian leader starts a process for democratic transition, "his regime will continue to be challenged from within and isolated¹² abroad."

1 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

4 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

5 professes   

声称( profess的第三人称单数 )； 宣称； 公开表明； 信奉

参考例句：

• She still professes her innocence. 她仍然声称自己无辜。
• He professes himself to be sad but doesn't look it. 他自称感到悲伤，但外表却看不出来。

6 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 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。

9 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

10 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

11 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

12 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。