美国有线新闻 CNN 2013-08-07

 This is seen as a broad-brush approach being taken by the US here in, I should say, in a country where security is already arid¹ tight under normal operations there. In terms of broadcasting we are not allowed to go - take our cameras into the diplomatic area. Let’s give you a sence where the US embassy is. If you look over my shoulder here, that tall, sloping building to the right of your screen is the US embassy. And it’s fair to say it does stand out in a crowd. 

 

Now, this is seen, as I was suggested here, as a big, wide action by the US, perhaps not targeted at the UAE but clearly at the advances made by Al Qaeda at Arabian Peninsula, in Yemen recently, and more specifically in Iraq, and just by mere² geographic³ here, but they are a proximity⁴ to Iraq and Iran. This is seen as a precautionary measure. 

 

I tried to speak to the US Ambassador who had said that this decision is coming out of Washington. One European ambassador said to me that this is a direct response, Natalie, to the attack in Benghazi last year where, ah, someone suggested that the US was slow to react. They don’t want to be thrown out of the ground here, and they are not taking any chances by just closing embassies in three or four countries. 

 

They are going after 22 countries and consulates⁵ throughout the region, even stretching to Afghanistan and Bangladesh. And we know now that Britain, Germany, and France have shuttered their operations in Yemen and the US had put tanks in front of their operations in that country as well, Natalie. 

 

Certainly something has had been taken as very, very seriously. Thanks for showing us the building there behind you. That is the US embassy. What do you know about the security at that building on a regular day there in Abu Dhabi, John? 

 

Well, it is a very tightly run operation not only of the US embassy but it is declared to say that the UAE had some of the best security in the Gulf⁶ states and in the broader Middle East. They take it very seriously. 

 

It’s only 300 km from here to Iran in going across the Straits of Hormuz. So that you could imagine what security is all about. The US and Britain have security cooperation here with the UAE government as well. But this comes at a period, interesting enough, during the last week of Ramadan, where it’s unusually quiet as it is. 

 

Emaratsi and other Muslems are in the region. They are waking up late in the day because of their, a breaking of the fast early the morning before. So, in fact, it’s a very quiet period anyway. And I think it’s fair to say it’s eerily⁷ quiet around the US embassy, as we see, what the security kind of locked down there during this hour. 

 

And we don’t really know when it would be back and anything would be returned to normal, do we? 

 

Well, the suggestion is - and I haven’t spoken to the US ambassador today - we know that the closure is for 24 hours on the embassy, but the travel alert carrys out through the month of August. 

 

Now I think it can be a wait-and-see attitude here to find what the noise is. The intellegences are coming out, this is not noise limited to Yemen - when I understand from diplomatic officials - but a broader approach here, Iraq, Yemen, and some of the concerned that even spilled into Syria. 

 

Again, they are not taking any chances. They are going to see the broad-bruch(你好好讲话行吗？), broad-brush approach through the 22 different countries and territories here in the region that even stretched into South Asia with Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

1 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

2 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

5 consulates   

n.领事馆( consulate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Consulates General of The People's Republic at Los Angeles. 中华人民共和国驻洛杉矶总领事馆。 来自互联网
• The country's embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions stationed in other countries. （七）家驻外使馆、馆和其他外交代表机构。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 eerily   

adv.引起神秘感或害怕地

参考例句：

• It was nearly mid-night and eerily dark all around her. 夜深了，到处是一片黑黝黝的怪影。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• The vast volcanic slope was eerily reminiscent of a lunar landscape. 开阔的火山坡让人心生怪异地联想起月球的地貌。 来自辞典例句