VOA常速英语2007年-2007 Brings More Crisis to Lebanon

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
19 December 2007

A political stalemate in Lebanon that started at the end of 2006 has dragged on through the entire year, culminating in a crisis that has left the country without a president.  VOA Middle East Correspondent Challiss McDonough reports from our bureau in Cairo.

As the year opened, Lebanon was in crisis.  Opposition¹ protesters were camped outside the prime minister's office, demanding the government's resignation.  Opposition ministers had walked out of the Cabinet, and parliament did not convene² for nearly a year.

2007 culminated³ in a crisis over the presidency⁴ that has left Lebanon without a head of state since late November, when former President Emile Lahoud's term expired.

The two sides have agreed in principle about who should be the next president, current Army chief, Gen. Michel Suleiman.  But his election in parliament has been repeatedly delayed as the political leaders bicker⁵ over the same issues that divided them back in January, the shape of the next government, and the opposition's role in it.

"The situation is very depressing right now in Lebanon, because you can see that the entire political leadership has decided⁶ it is OK to be without a president, and that it is OK to be in this constant state of political paralysis⁷ for months on end," said Mohamad Bazzi, a visiting fellow on Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Political science professor Bassel Salloukh of Lebanese American University says Lebanon is entering what appears to be a period of perpetual crisis, where battles break out over every decision, corroding⁸ an already fragile state.

"When you look at the past year, the greatest lesson that you come out with is how institutions decay, and how the decay of these institutions bring the state to the verge⁹ of collapse," he said.  "The ministries¹⁰ are still working, but the government as a forum¹¹ for sectarian accommodation and sectarian peace is not functioning.  And I think it will take us a very long time to undo¹² the damage that has been done in the past year."

Since 2005, a string of political assassinations¹³ has kept Lebanon on edge.  Lebanon was only beginning to recover from years of Syrian domination when a war between Hezbollah and Israel broke out in 2006.  And the recovery from that war had barely begun when the political crisis exploded.

Bazzi says the continuing crisis is pushing the country into a downward spiral.

"It scares away investment. It scares away tourists. It scares away all the things that Lebanon needs to get back on its feet, especially after the devastating¹⁴ war in the summer of 2006," he added.

Salloukh says Lebanon's political leaders have squandered¹⁵ the opportunity presented to them by the withdrawal¹⁶ of Syrian troops in 2005.  They could have built a democratic, inclusive and multi-sectarian Lebanon, but instead have clustered around their own narrow sectarian interests.

"And the price has been paid in terms of democracy in the country, and in terms of independence," he noted¹⁷.  "We neither have a democratic system today, nor sovereignty and independence."

As the political leaders squabble, other problems facing Lebanon go unaddressed.  One of them exploded into violence in May, when the Lebanese army began fighting a group of Islamic extremists inside the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp.

After four months, the army routed the group, known as Fatah al-Islam, but only after heavy casualties on both sides and the destruction of much of the camp. 

Bazzi says the squalid conditions and isolation¹⁸ of the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon have allowed them to become havens¹⁹ for Islamist extremists, most of whom are not Palestinian.

"And that' is a problem that is not going to go away with the selection of a new president," he explained.  "That is actually one of the things that is going to haunt the next president and the next prime minister and the next political leadership, and the Lebanese political leadership really needs to do something about the problem of Palestinian refugees and their treatment as second- and third-class citizens in Lebanon."

Another issue looming²⁰ over the country is the Iraqi refugee crisis.  Lebanon hosts about 50,000 Iraqis, most of them in the country illegally.  That is a far smaller number than other countries in the region, but Lebanon is already so fragile that it remains²¹ a matter for concern, and Lebanon's government has not come up with a cohesive²² policy for dealing²³ with it.

The group Human Rights Watch also issued a critical report in December, saying Lebanon has detained nearly 600 Iraqis for being in the country illegally, and then given them an impossible choice - go back to Iraq, or stay in jail in Lebanon.

But Human Rights Watch researcher Nadim Houry says the political crisis in Beirut has made it hard for groups such as his to prod²⁴ the government into action.

"I mean, that has been one of the challenges of working Lebanon this past year, as state institutions are mostly paralyzed," said Houry.  "They recognize that the situation now is not ideal.  The problem is, we need a bold political decision in Lebanon to come up with more creative solutions, and in the current vacuum, everything is immobilized.  At the same time, we feel that we cannot put everything on hold until the political crisis gets resolved."

At its core, the analysts²⁵ say Lebanon's political crisis is a sectarian struggle for power between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, and that struggle intersects with a regional battle for influence between Iran and Syria on the one side, and so-called moderate Arab states, the United States, and Europe on the other.

1 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。

2 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

3 culminated   

v.达到极点( culminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• a gun battle which culminated in the death of two police officers 一场造成两名警察死亡的枪战
• The gala culminated in a firework display. 晚会以大放烟火告终。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 bicker   

vi.(为小事)吵嘴，争吵

参考例句：

• The two children used to bicker about who should do the washing-up.这两个小孩子过去常为该由谁洗餐具一事而争吵。
• They always bicker when they meet at school.在学校见面时他们总是争吵。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

8 corroding   

使腐蚀，侵蚀( corrode的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• That sour nature has started corroding those metal parts. 那酸质已开始腐蚀那金属部件。
• He was driven by a corroding rage for "perfection". 他受追求“完美境界”的极端热情所驱策。

9 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

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。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

10 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

11 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

12 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

13 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

14 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

15 squandered   

v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squandered all his money on gambling. 他把自己所有的钱都糟蹋在赌博上了。
• She felt as indignant as if her own money had been squandered. 她心里十分生气，好像是她自己的钱给浪费掉了似的。 来自飘（部分）

16 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

17 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。

18 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

19 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

20 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

21 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。

22 cohesive   

adj.有粘着力的；有结合力的；凝聚性的

参考例句：

• She sealed the parcel with cohesive tape.她用粘胶带把包裹封起来。
• The author skillfully fuses these fragments into a cohesive whole.作者将这些片断巧妙地结合成一个连贯的整体。

23 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

24 prod   

vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励

参考例句：

• The crisis will prod them to act.那个危机将刺激他们行动。
• I shall have to prod him to pay me what he owes.我将不得不催促他把欠我的钱还给我。

25 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。