voa标准英语2008年-More Syrian Troops Deploy Along Lebanese Border

Syria has reportedly deployed¹ more troops along its border with Lebanon, allegedly to "combat smuggling³." Meanwhile a Syrian Foreign Ministry⁴ spokesman is denying reports that Syria has withdrawn⁵ troops from its border with Iraq in retaliation⁶ for a weekend raid on a Syrian border town which Damascus blames on the United States. Edward Yeranian reports for VOA from Cairo.

The Syrian Army has deployed more troops along Lebanon's northern border, according to Lebanese Army sources, amid claims that Damascus is redoubling efforts to "combat smuggling."

Reports that Damascus was beefing up its troop strength along the Lebanese border coincide with unconfirmed reports by the private Syrian Dunia satellite TV network that Syrian border patrol forces were being withdrawn from the notoriously porous⁷ border with Iraq. Dunia TV showed pictures of what it claimed were Syrian forces being withdrawn from the Iraqi border.

Dunia TV says that the move comes as a protest for the alleged² U.S. raid on the Syrian border town of Sukkariya, over the weekend, which reportedly killed a top al Qaida operative. Washington has not confirmed the raid.

Despite the reports, al Jazeera TV says that Syrian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Boushara Kanafani is denying that Damascus has made any changes to its troop strength or redeployed along the Iraqi border.

Timor Goksel, the former spokesman for United Nations Interim⁸ Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), says that he doesn't think that there is any relation between Syrian troop movements along the Lebanese border and possible movements along the Syrian-Iraqi border.

"Absolutely not. Absolutely not. There's absolutely no connection with that. No, no. I doubt that very much. I mean…what happened along the Iraqi border is totally something else. I don't think there's any connection," he said. "This is Internal Lebanese-Syria….nothing to do with that."

Goksel adds that he thinks Syria is responding to long-term international pressure to keep better control of its border with Lebanon and that he doubts anyone inside Lebanon or from within the international community will protest the move:

"So, I think the timing⁹ is perfect. It is certainly not a threat of any kind to the Lebanese or anything like that," he said. "Nobody is going to complain, because everyone has been complaining that the eastern border has been unguarded…"

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebary also asserts, in a statement, that he's spoken with his Syrian counterpart Walid al Mouallem, and that "more security cooperation between the two countries is needed along their common border.

Deputy Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al Miqdad indicated, this morning, that Syria has asked Iraq for "clarifications" over the recent raid inside Syrian territory. He says we are going to re-examine what's going on with Iraq in light of the official responses we're getting from the Iraqi side, following our requests to the United Nations for clarifications from Iraq.

Miqdad added that he thinks relations with Iraq were actually "better than the sometimes harsh rhetoric¹⁰ coming out of both sides might suggest."

1 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

6 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

8 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。

9 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

10 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。