VOA标准英语2011--Analysts Assess Future US-Libya Ties

Analysts² Assess Future US-Libya Ties

While fighting continues in Libya, the international community is already looking ahead to a post-Gadhafi era. For now, U.S. officials are providing few specifics about a future American role in what Washington hopes will emerge as a stable, democratic nation.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Barack Obama hailed the expected end of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s regime, but spoke³ in general terms about future U.S. engagement in the northern African nation. “The United States will be a friend and partner. We will join with allies and partners to continue the work of safeguarding the people of Libya,” he said.
At the State Department, a wait-and-see approach prevails. “Let us start with what the Libyans themselves feel is necessary, what they can achieve with their own resources. Let us wait and see what is on their wish list,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
Nevertheless, U.S. officials acknowledge Libya’s Transitional National Council will need operating funds, especially given reduced oil output during the country’s civil war. “We want to start with getting the money that the TNC needs to maintain a strong and stable government, to provide for the humanitarian⁴ and security needs of its people. Then we will go on from there,” Nuland said.
Except for the initial phase of an air campaign to protect the Libyan people and degrade pro-Gadhafi forces, the United States has played a supporting role in international efforts to shape Libya’s future. A limited U.S. role is likely to continue, according to military analyst¹ Richard Weitz of the Washington-based Hudson Institute.
“The U.S. is probably going to defer⁵ more to the other governments in the region, be they the Arab countries and the North African countries and the European countries. They are much closer,” Weitz said.
Even before anti-Gadhafi fighters advanced into Tripoli, U.S. officials and lawmakers discussed an eventual⁶ unfreezing of tens of billions of dollars in foreign assets held by the Gadhafi regime. According to Weitz, those assets, as well as any future U.S. aid, can help ensure that a post-Gadhafi Libya sticks to a democratic path.
“Give emergency assistance and aid now, but condition additional assistance on good behavior of the [new] regime,” Weitz said.
From the start of the rebellion, opponents of Moammar Gadhafi have reached out to the international community. “We hope that the world will understand us, deal with us, co-operate with us,” said Libyan opposition⁷ figure Mohamed Shebani.
With the United States already extricating⁸ itself from two other conflicts, in Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans show little appetite for increasing foreign expenditures⁹ in Libya or anywhere else. But U.S. assistance need not be financially draining in an oil-rich nation like Libya, according to national security analyst Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution.
“I am hopeful that, in fact, we will be able to see some American help. But let us also remember [that] Libya is rich. Libya is a small population base with several tens of billions of dollars in foreign reserves. So the issue here is less giving Libyans money,” O'Hanlon said.
O’Hanlon and other analysts say the coming months will be crucial for Libya’s future, and U.S. engagement will be an important ingredient in shaping that future.

1 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。

2 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。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 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。

5 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

6 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

7 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。

8 extricating   

v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• First, this will not bring on disorder and, second, it will not make extricating oneself impossible. 大鸣大放，一不会乱，二不会下不得台。 来自互联网
• Idea of Multhus "Two Control" and System Conditions of Extricating from "Population Trap " 马尔萨斯“两种抑制”的观点及解脱“人口陷阱”的制度条件。 来自互联网

9 expenditures   

n.花费( expenditure的名词复数 )；使用；（尤指金钱的）支出额；（精力、时间、材料等的）耗费

参考例句：

• We have overspent.We'll have to let up our expenditures next month. 我们已经超支了，下个月一定得节约开支。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pension includes an allowance of fifty pounds for traffic expenditures. 年金中包括50镑交通费补贴。 来自《简明英汉词典》