2020年经济学人 妙招还是蠢招--美国暗杀伊朗将领(2)

And yet Iran’s thirst for revenge is surely not slaked¹. Even if they avoid overt² forms of aggression³, the Revolutionary Guards are likely to pursue other tactics, including cyber-attacks, suicide- bombings by proxies⁴, assassinations⁶ of American officials and an array of means they have honed over the years. These reprisals⁷ could take months to unfold. As the killing⁸ of General Suleimani recedes⁹, Iran will once again begin to probe the willingness of America to use force. In an asymmetric¹⁰ world weak parties often retreat in the face of force, only to return. They have more patience and a greater tolerance¹¹ of pain than a distant superpower does.

然而，伊朗对复仇的渴望肯定没有消失。即使他们避免公开的侵略形式，革命卫队也可能采取其他策略，包括网络攻击、代理人的自杀式炸弹袭击、暗杀美国官员以及他们多年来磨练的一系列手段。这些报复行动可能需要数月时间才能展开。随着苏莱曼尼将军之死的结束，伊朗将再次开始调查美国使用武力的意愿。在一个不对称的世界里，弱小的各方往往在武力面前退却，然后又卷土重来。他们比遥远的超级大国更有耐心，更能忍受痛苦。

The second test is whether America’s strike weakens Iran’s grip on its neighbours. Iran has a network of militias¹², proxies and forward bases for its Quds Force, across an area that stretches from the Mediterranean¹³ to the Arabian Sea. This is about projecting Iranian power, regardless of the atrocities¹⁴ committed by its clients, such as Bashar al-Assad, who used nerve gas on his own people without a whisper of complaint from Iran.

第二个考验是美国的打击是否会削弱伊朗对其邻国的控制。伊朗拥有一个由民兵、代理人和圣城军前沿基地组成的网络，跨越从地中海到阿拉伯海的区域。这是为了彰显伊朗的力量，而不管叙利亚总统巴沙尔·阿萨德等其主顾犯下的种种暴行。阿萨德对自己的人民使用了神经毒气，而伊朗却没有丝毫怨言。

General Suleimani’s death deprives this grim network of its architect and orchestrator. It is too soon to judge the calibre of those who are taking his place, but if the general was as exceptional as his reputation, then his loss will be felt. It may also deprive the Quds Force of funds. The Iranian state is desperately¹⁵ short of money. Ordinary Iranians have noticed that resources which are going on guns and mortars¹⁶ might be better spent on schools and hospitals.

苏莱曼尼将军之死剥夺了由这位设计者和编排者制造的残酷网络。现在判断接替他的人的能力还为时过早，但如果这位将军像他的声誉一样杰出，那么他的损失将会被人们感受到。它还可能使圣城军丧失资金。伊朗平民已经注意到，用于购买枪支和迫击炮的资源最好花在学校和医院上。

But there are complications here, too. After the assassination⁵, Iran is hellbent on pushing America out of the Middle East. It will start in Iraq, where it has mostly outmanoeuvred America. The government in Baghdad is dominated by Shia politicians in thrall¹⁷ to Iran. On January 5th Iraq’s parliament passed a resolution calling on the government to start evicting¹⁸ foreign troops, including 5,000 or so American soldiers. The vote is not binding¹⁹, many Iraqis resent Iranian influence, and American money and weapons are valuable to Iraq. Even so, it increasingly seems more a question of when, rather than if, the troops finally go.

但这里也有复杂的地方。暗杀事件后，伊朗执意要把美国赶出中东。它将从伊拉克开始，在那里它基本上已经胜过了美国。巴格达的政府电视台被受伊朗控制的什叶派政客所控制。1月5日，伊拉克议会通过了一项决议，要求政府开始驱逐外国军队，其中包括大约5000名美国士兵。投票没有约束力，许多伊拉克人憎恨伊朗的影响，而美国的资金和武器对伊拉克来说是宝贵的。即便如此，问题似乎越来越多地集中在何时撤军，而不是是否撤军。

1 slaked   

v.满足( slake的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I slaked my thirst with three cans of Coke. 我喝了3罐可乐解渴。 来自辞典例句
• We returned to the barn and slaked our thirst with tea. 我们回到谷仓，饮茶解渴。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

4 proxies   

n.代表权( proxy的名词复数 )；（测算用的）代替物；（对代理人的）委托书；（英国国教教区献给主教等的）巡游费

参考例句：

• SOCKS and proxies are unavailable. Try connecting to XX again? socks和代理不可用。尝试重新连接到XX吗？ 来自互联网
• All proxies are still down. Continue with direct connections? 所有的代理仍然有故障。继续直接连接吗？ 来自互联网

5 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。

6 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

7 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 recedes   

v.逐渐远离( recede的第三人称单数 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• For this reason the near point gradually recedes as one grows older. 由于这个原因，随着人渐渐变老，近点便逐渐后退。 来自辞典例句
• Silent, mournful, abandoned, broken, Czechoslovakia recedes into the darkness. 缄默的、悲哀的、被抛弃的、支离破碎的捷克斯洛伐克，已在黑暗之中。 来自辞典例句

10 asymmetric   

a.不对称的

参考例句：

• Most people's faces are asymmetric. 大多数人的脸不对称。
• We have made no reference to asymmetric carbon atoms. 我们未曾涉及不对称碳原子。

11 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

12 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

13 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

14 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

16 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

17 thrall   

n.奴隶；奴隶制

参考例句：

• He treats his wife like a thrall.他把妻子当作奴隶看待。
• He is not in thrall to the media.他不受制于媒体。

18 evicting   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. 花在打击性侵犯者上的钱并不能花在治疗这一社会问题上。 来自互联网
• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. Does this matter? 钱被花费在驱逐性犯罪者而不是用做教育他们，这样做真的好么？ 来自互联网

19 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。