2006年VOA标准英语-American Opinion Split on US Position on Israel

By Mil Arcega
Washington, DC
07 August 2006
 
watch Opinion report

Diplomatic efforts are intensifying¹ as Israeli warplanes continue to pound southern Lebanon.  The U.S. says it is working closely with European leaders and the U.N. Security Council to put an end to the fighting but insists an immediate² ceasefire will not guarantee a lasting³ peace. Meanwhile, Americans public opinion appears split on how to end the nearly 4-week-old conflict.

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The fighting between Hezbollah and Israel continues unabated across Lebanon's southern border.

Innocent civilians⁴ are victims of Middle East fighting   
  
But finding a way to end the conflict, which has killed more than 900 people in Lebanon and at least 68 in Israel has divided many in the international community.  Some European and Arab countries have demanded an immediate ceasefire.  Although the Bush administration agrees the fighting should end, it says any agreement on a ceasefire must include long-term solutions.

At the National Mall in Washington DC, a random⁵ sampling of opinions suggests widely differing views.

 
This Washington D.C. visitor says, "a ceasefire would be a wonderful thing."
  
"Anytime there is war that is bad and anytime we can negotiate peace, that is always better. So yes, a ceasefire would be a wonderful thing," said one woman.

"Right now, I believe we should let Israel take care of the Hezbollah threat to Israeli citizens," said another person.  "Once they get that taken care of, there should be a ceasefire between both parties, But not until then. Not until then, not until Israel has taken care of the threat against their country."

But a phone survey commissioned by the largest Islamic civil liberties group in the U.S. claims the majority of Americans want an end to the fighting. The Council on American-Islamic Relations says nearly 54 percent believe the U.S. should call for an immediate ceasefire. Parvez Ahmed is the council's chairman.

Parvez Ahmed  
  
"The American public opinion is behind the ceasefire, there ought to be an immediate ceasefire at this point in time, to not only allow for humanitarian⁶ aid to reach people in that troubled region but also to work towards the just resolution of this 50-year conflict."

A similar survey by CNN shows only 44 percent of Americans believe Israel should agree to an immediate ceasefire.

Mohammed Nimer  
  
Mohammed Nimer, the Council's research director hopes the surveys will encourage more discussion.  "There is great room for debate on the overall US policy in the Middle East and that is what the American public opinion polled by an independent research firm told us."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the U.N. Security Council is close to reaching agreement on the terms of a permanent ceasefire but she says long-term peace in the region will require help from an international peacekeeping force to disarm⁷ Hezbollah militants⁸.

1 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

2 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。

3 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

8 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。