美国国家公共电台 NPR Russian Defense Minister Says His Military Has Tested 162 Weapons In Syria

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

In Russia, it's Defender¹ of the Fatherland Day. This day was known in Soviet² times as Red Army Day. So yesterday on the eve of the holiday, Russia's defense³ minister visited the Parliament to boast about the Russian military, including its performance in Syria. NPR's Lucian Kim reports from Moscow.

LUCIAN KIM, BYLINE⁴: Sergei Shoigu, one of Russia's longest-serving ministers, showed up in Parliament wearing a general's uniform. Russia has never made a secret that its intervention⁵ on behalf of the Syrian government was also an excellent opportunity to show off its new military prowess.

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SERGEI SHOIGU: (Speaking Russian).

KIM: "We tested 162 types of weapons in Syria," he said, "which showed a high level of effectiveness." Shoigu added that only 10 weapon systems performed below expectations.

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KIM: Shortly after Russia went into Syria in September 2015, the navy fired cruise missiles at targets there, an event that coincided with President Vladimir Putin's 63rd birthday. The Air Force sent long-range Bear and Backfire bombers⁶ on missions over Syria.

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KIM: And Russia's only aircraft carrier traveled all the way from the Arctic Ocean to attack targets in Syria, as glorified⁷ in a defense ministry⁸ video.

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KIM: Of course testing weapons was not the primary reason for Russia's war in Syria. Aleksandr Golts, a fellow at the Kennan Institute in Washington, says the Kremlin wanted to force the U.S. to talk to Russia after its intervention in Ukraine. Moscow also wanted to keep its client, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in power. Trying out new weapons, Golts says, was just a bonus.

ALEKSANDR GOLTS: (Foreign language spoken).

KIM: "It sounds cynical," he says, "but the fact remains⁹ that combat is the best way to test the condition of your weaponry."

There were also domestic political reasons. Many Russians felt humiliated¹⁰ after the Soviet Union fell apart and Russia stood on the sidelines as the U.S. led interventions¹¹ in Iraq and the former Yugoslavia. For President Putin, modernizing¹² the military has been one of his most important priorities to show that Russia is once again a player on the world stage. Dmitry Gorenburg, a defense analyst¹³ at the CNA think tank, says that in that sense, Russia has accomplished¹⁴ its mission.

DMITRY GORENBURG: By American standards, it was a small operation, but it was more than the experts really thought they were capable of.

KIM: The weapons Putin put on show in Syria demonstrated that he could stage a military operation far beyond Russia's borders. For example, Gorenburg says, the cruise missile showed that Russia could potentially reach targets deep within Europe. But human rights groups say the Russian air campaign has come at a terrible cost for civilians¹⁶ on the ground...

(CROSSTALK)

KIM: ...As seen in this video from opposition¹⁷ activists¹⁸ in Syria showing the bodies of young children being extracted from a bombed apartment building.

LAMA FAKIH: Every statement we’ve sent to the Russians about a strike and questioning the legitimacy¹⁹ of the strike has been met with denials. But that doesn’t change what the obligations are.

KIM: That's Lama Fakih, deputy director for the Middle East at Human Rights Watch. She says Russia is obligated to conduct investigations²⁰ and pay compensation where the laws of war were violated. The Russian Defense Ministry rejects reports by Human Rights Watch and other groups as part of a, quote, "information war against Moscow."

GORENBURG: My sense is that they didn’t care that much - certainly not compared to how much Western countries’ militaries care about collateral²¹ damage and civilian¹⁵ casualties and so forth²².

KIM: Gorenburg says Russia's military thinking hasn't changed since the Kremlin crushed a rebellion by Chechen separatists 17 years ago just as Vladimir Putin was rising to power. Lucian Kim, NPR News, Moscow.

(SOUNDBITE OF MIEUX SONG, "RUST")

1 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 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。

6 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。

8 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。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

11 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

12 modernizing   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的现在分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• Modernizing a business to increase its profitability and competitiveness is a complicated affair. 使企业现代化，从而达到增加利润，增强竞争力的目的，是一件复杂的事情。
• The young engineer had a large share in modernizing the factory. 这位年轻工程师在工厂现代化的过程中尽了很大的“力”。

13 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。

14 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

15 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

16 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。

17 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。

18 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

20 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

21 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

22 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。