2007年VOA标准英语-Analyst says Somalia a Handicap for Ethiopia

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
28 March 2007

The al-Qaida terrorist organization has issued a call for Islamic extremists around the world to come to the aid of Somalis fighting the country's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and its chief backer in the region, Ethiopia.  As VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, Ethiopia, which still has thousands of troops in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, is facing a threat it had hoped it had eliminated, when Ethiopia's military dismantled¹ the leadership of Somalia's Islamist movement last December.  

Appearing recently in an Internet video on al-Qaida's official media Web site, a prominent leader in the organization, Abu Yahya al-Libi, said it was the duty of all Muslim holy warriors² to go to Somalia and help Somalis end what he called "the occupation of Abbyssinians and their apostate³ lackeys⁴."

Speaking in Arabic, Libi urged Muslim fighters to "let the volcano erupt" in Somalia by waging an Iraq-style guerrilla war against Ethiopia and anyone supporting the secular⁵ government Ethiopia helped install in power three months ago.

Analyst⁶ Richard Cornwell at the Institute of International Studies in South Africa says he is not surprised that Ethiopia is now high on al-Qaida's list of enemies.

"This has been the problem ever since the Ethiopian invasion," he said.  "They were going to create the monster they were aiming to prevent."

Cornwell is referring to anti-Western, Muslim extremists, whom he says are steadily⁷ gaining ground in Somalia, because of miscalculations by the Ethiopian government. 

Cornwell argues that the main reason Ethiopia wanted to end the rule of Somalia's Islamic Courts Union was to prevent Islamist leaders from giving support to rebel groups in the ethnically-Somali Ogaden and Oromo regions of Ethiopia and to Ethiopia's archrival, Eritrea.

US AC-130 gunships struck al-Qaeda targets in Somalia according to the Air Force, 10 Jan 2007

But to carry out a full-scale invasion of Somalia, Cornwell says Ethiopia needed the support of the United States.  To enlist⁸ U.S. support, Ethiopia emphasized the threat of growing al-Qaida influence inside the courts.

The Islamists' military chief, Adan Hashi Ayro, was an al-Qaida-trained radical⁹, who is believed to have harbored terrorists wanted for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa.  Ayro was also the founder¹⁰ and leader of a radical Somali youth movement called the Shabbab. 

"The al-Qaida card was a card the Ethiopians played to get the Americans on board," he explained.

That action brought Ethiopia on a collision course with not only al-Qaida, but extremists and nationalists inside Somalia's Islamist movement.  After the fall of the movement, many of them remained in Mogadishu, simmering in anger and vowing¹¹ revenge. 

The defeat of the Islamic Courts Union also re-opened bitter clan¹² divisions in southern Somalia that has placed Ethiopia at the center of a brewing¹³ conflict. 

The Islamists drew much of their support from the Hawiye clan, the dominant¹⁴ clan in Mogadishu. But the government Ethiopia supports, the Transitional Federal Government, is perceived to be dominated by the interests of Hawiye's chief rival, the Darod clan.

The TFG's president, Abdullahi Yusuf, is a Darod and Hawiye clan elder Abdullahi Sheik Hassan says President Yusuf has reinforced this perception by pursuing policies that have alienated¹⁵ the Hawiye.

The Hawiye leader says when President Yusuf has says he has met with Hawiye leaders, he means only those Hawiye clan members he knows in his government.  Hassan says Yusuf is still refusing to meet with Hawiye leaders and supporters of the Islamic Courts Union, whose participation¹⁶ in government, he believes, is vital to stabilizing¹⁷ Somalia. 

Last week, when Ethiopian and government troops started entering some neighborhoods in Mogadishu to disarm¹⁸ the residents by force, the event triggered the most intense violence the capital has seen in years. 

The violence included the burning of two Ethiopian and government soldiers, numerous mortar¹⁹ and rocket attacks, fierce street battles, and the downing of a cargo²⁰ plane at Mogadishu Airport.

The government said disarming²¹ the city was necessary to ensure the safety of some 3,000 Somalis, who are expected to gather in Mogadishu next month for a government-sponsored, clan-based reconciliation²² conference.

Many Hawiye members, especially supporters of the Islamic Courts Union, say they view the disarmament process as a Darod attempt to sideline and weaken the Hawiye.

Richard Cornwell says he believes Ethiopia, as the chief backer of the interim²³ government, must intervene forcefully in the dispute now or risk being sucked into a civil war that could spread into other areas of East Africa.

"The TFG has to be sent a very firm message:  Our support for you, although you are a recognized government, is not unconditional," he added.  "You will either talk to your enemies and make peace with them - not an imposed peace, but a real peace - or we walk away and leave you to your own devices."

Several Somalis in Mogadishu contacted by VOA say that they believe al-Qaida is trying hard to exploit a volatile²⁴ situation in their country, but it still lacks popular support.

But they warn if Ethiopia, the United States and others in the international community, fail to persuade the interim government into being more inclusive, groups like al-Qaida may find large numbers of potential recruits in Somalia, especially among those who feel hopeless about their future.

1 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

2 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

3 apostate   

n.背叛者，变节者

参考例句：

• He is an apostate from Christianity.他是一个基督教的背信者。
• The most furious anarchist become the most barefaced apostate.最激烈的无政府主义者，居然成了最露骨的变节者。

4 lackeys   

n.听差( lackey的名词复数 )；男仆（通常穿制服）；卑躬屈膝的人；被待为奴仆的人

参考例句：

• When the boss falls from power, his lackeys disperse. 树倒猢狲散。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The singer was surrounded by the usual crowd of lackeys and hangers on. 那个歌手让那帮总是溜须拍马、前呼後拥的人给围住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

8 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。

9 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

10 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

11 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

12 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

13 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

14 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

15 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

17 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

18 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。

19 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

20 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

21 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

22 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

23 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

24 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。