VOA标准英语2013--Chemical Weapons in Syria Fit Pattern of Escalation

 

Chemical Weapons in Syria Fit Pattern of Escalation¹

U.S. intelligence agencies believe it is likely the Syrian government has used the lethal² nerve agent sarin.

But President Obama says the evidence is not strong enough for the U.S. to take action.

"What we now have is evidence that chemical weapons have been used inside of Syria but we don't know how they were used, when they were used, who used them," said President Obama.

Some analysts⁴ believe using only a small amount of these weapons is designed to avoid mass casualties and is a strategic decision by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Joseph Holliday is a former intelligence officer in the U.S. Army who is now a senior research analyst³ at the Institute for the Study of War.

“And so this careful introduction is designed to ensure that there is not a major reaction, which will allow him to ratchet up the use of the [chemical] weapons in the future," said Holliday.

The commander of the Free Syrian Army, General Salim Idris, said in a letter to President Obama that the Assad government's use of chemical weapons could be a prelude⁵ to a larger deployment⁶ of such weapons as part of that government's strategy.

The subtle introduction of chemical weapons appears to fit the Assad government’s model for military escalation.

After using heavy artillery⁷ to shell rebel-held cities, the government deployed⁸ helicopter gunships and then Syrian war planes.

The Syrian military even fired Scud⁹ missiles into densely¹⁰ populated urban areas.

“I think that Assad has been able to call our bluff¹¹ in many respects because there really are not many good options for military intervention¹² in Syria," Holiday said.

The Assad government blames recent bombings in Damascus on terrorists, a term officials use to describe rebel fighters. And it has denied using chemical weapons.

"If they had any proof, any evidence, any tools - credible¹³ - they should share it with the secretary-general.  They should share it with us," said Syria’s U.N. Ambassador is Bashar Jaafari:

Analysts say chemical weapons are part of the government’s strategy of forcing civilians¹⁴ to flee rebel held areas without the destruction of infrastructure¹⁵ caused by conventional weapons.

They say this ensures that even when rebels capture territory they lose much of the population.

“I think we are looking at potentially a quarter of the Syrian population has either been displaced within their cities, out of their cities, or even across international borders," Holliday said.

The Free Syrian Army is asking the U.S. to help rid Syria of the Assad government and its chemical weapons.

1 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

2 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

3 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。

4 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。

5 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

6 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

7 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

8 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。

9 scud   

n.疾行；v.疾行

参考例句：

• The helpers came in a scud.救援者飞奔而来。
• Rabbits scud across the turf.兔子飞快地穿过草地。

10 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

11 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

12 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

13 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

14 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

15 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。