VOA标准英语2008年-Bhutto's Assassination Raises Questions about U

By Ravi Khanna
Washington, D.C.
04 January 2008
  

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's political party continues to call for a United Nations investigation¹ into her assassination².  Opposition³ parties have condemned⁴ the government's decision to delay parliamentary elections until February 18, due to the rioting following Ms. Bhutto's death.  But the opposition groups say they will participate in the elections, which were originally set for January 8.   VOA's Ravi Khanna has more.

Pakistani opposition parties accuse the government of delaying elections to prevent a possible "sympathy vote" for Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party. They say they fear the move also could lead to more violence in a country still shaken by the assassination last week.

But Samina Ahmed, a political analyst⁵ with the International Crisis Group, says the six-week delay is justified⁶. She warns that Pakistan's transition to democracy could either be peaceful and orderly or bloody⁷ and chaotic⁸. "We've already seen half the country up in flames and this is before Bhutto's murder,” she explains. “After Bhutto's murder we've seen the extent of public anger. Is this sustainable?  No, it's not."

Some longtime observers of Pakistani politics note that Ms. Bhutto's assassins struck not far from army headquarters in Rawalpindi. They say that damages whatever trust people might have had in President Musharraf and the army to fight terrorism.

Husain Haqqani teaches international relations at the Boston University. He asks, "How can a government whose people do not trust it in a matter as simple as investigating the terrorist murder of the country's most popular leader, how can that government have the faith of the people in dealing⁹ with the terrorist problem?"

Haqqani says Pakistan's military is losing the support of the people, and that is not good for Pakistan or the United States because the army will have to fight the insurgents¹⁰ without public support.  He questions why, despite billions of dollars in U.S. aid to fight extremists, terrorism is rising in Pakistan. "The number of terrorist deaths in Pakistan in 2006 was 1,471. In 2005, it had been only 648, so it was doubled. And now for 2007 the figure is something like 2,300." 

Frederick Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute says the U.S. policy of giving so much aid to Pakistan may be the wrong approach.  He says the army might be under the impression that it should keep terrorism going in order to get more U.S. aid and attention.  "I think that we have created a perverse¹¹ incentive¹² for the Pakistani military. As long as there continues to be a terrorist threat in Pakistan," says Kagan.

Haqqani agrees. He says it is in Mr. Musharraf's interest to prop¹³ up the Islamists in Pakistan as a means for milking the United States for more aid.

Danielle Pletka at the American Enterprise Institute argues that instead of giving billions of dollars in military aid, more aid should go towards building a democratic society in Pakistan. "Aid should be directed to a purpose and that purpose should be to deepen civil society within Pakistan,” she says. “It should bring the kind of stability that derives¹⁴ from a more robust¹⁵ democratic system."

Husain Haqqani of Boston University says Washington should use military and economic aid as a leverage¹⁶ to turn Pakistan in the right direction. "Pakistan needs a strong government, a civilian¹⁷ government, that has control over the military and intelligence services. And that makes the turn around from the 'jihadi' past to a future in which Pakistan enters the stage of modernity."

 He says Washington can make it possible by attaching strings¹⁸ to the aid because the Pakistani Army right now is very fearful of losing the U.S. aid and attention.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

3 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。

4 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

5 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。

6 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

7 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

8 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

9 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。

10 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

11 perverse   

adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的

参考例句：

• It would be perverse to stop this healthy trend.阻止这种健康发展的趋势是没有道理的。
• She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed.她有一种不正常的心态，以使别人难堪来取乐。

12 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

13 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

14 derives   

v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• English derives in the main from the common Germanic stock. 英语主要源于日耳曼语系。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derives his income from freelance work. 他以自由职业获取收入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

16 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

17 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

18 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。