VOA标准英语2013--美国考虑为叙利亚叛军加强培训

 

US Weighs Boosting Training for Syrian Rebels 美国考虑为叙利亚叛军加强培训

PENTAGON  As debate continues over a possible U.S. strike against Syria, there's a push in Congress for the U.S. military to assume a role in training Syrian opposition¹ fighters in neighboring Jordan.

U.S. training of Syrian rebels has been carried out covertly³ and on a small scale.   

Now, some in Washington want to boost that support and throw the might of the U.S. military behind the training. Among those supporting overt⁴ assistance to the rebels is U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who met with President Barack Obama at the White House.  

"There seems to be emerging from this administration a pretty solid plan to upgrade the opposition, to get the regional players more involved. Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, a lot of the Gulf⁵ Arab states have been helping⁶ quietly. Now is the time to get out front and be more overt," said Graham.

U.S. troops are already in Jordan, where they have a long history of training allied⁷ forces.

U.S. forces are poised⁸ to launch a limited strike to weaken Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but not remove him from power.

The top U.S. military officer, General Martin Dempsey, told lawmakers that looking beyond a limited strike, the U.S. military can train the Syrian opposition to defeat Assad forces and bring about his eventual⁹ departure.

The path to the resolution of the Syrian conflict is through a developed, capable, moderate opposition. And we know how to do that," said Dempsey.

With debate still raging on whether the United States should get caught up in another Middle East conflict, Pentagon officials are careful not to discuss preparations for a broader training program for Syrian rebels.

Pentagon Spokesman George Little said, "At this point, given the current situation, I'm not going to get into the specifics of our planning. But we plan for just anything, as I've said before, and we continue to plan and consult with our partners in the region."

Rebels complain that the small weapons and other lethal¹⁰ aid promised by the U.S. has been slow to reach them.  

Analyst¹¹ Michael O'Hanlon said that's because U.S. officials must make sure the aid does not fall into the hands of extremists. "Twelve-hundred insurgent¹² groups, which means you don't really know to whom you give these weapons and how to ensure their control thereafter. Therefore, that does raise the question of whether we should be trying to do more, not just to train, but to fashion an organization and a hierarchy¹³."

Scenes like those of Syrian rebels preparing to execute captured Syrian soldiers highlight questions of whether helping the rebels is right. The video was shot in 2012 and made public recently by The New York Times.  

The Obama administration must now decide whether it wants to continue to work through a covert² and quiet means, or deepen its involvement.

1 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。

2 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

3 covertly   

adv.偷偷摸摸地

参考例句：

• Naval organizations were covertly incorporated into civil ministries. 各种海军组织秘密地混合在各民政机关之中。 来自辞典例句
• Modern terrorism is noteworthy today in that it is being done covertly. 现代的恐怖活动在今天是值得注意的，由于它是秘密进行的。 来自互联网

4 overt   

adj.公开的，明显的，公然的

参考例句：

• His opponent's intention is quite overt.他的对手的意图很明显。
• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。

5 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

8 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

13 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。