2006年VOA标准英语-Israeli Prime Minister Defends War

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
14 August 2006

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert addresses a special session of Israel's parliament, or Knesset, in Jerusalem, Monday, August 14, 2006  
  
More than a month of heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants¹ has ended with a U.N.-mediated case-fire in effect in Lebanon. Despite several incidents when Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants exchanged fire, the truce² appears to be holding. Israel's prime minister addressed his critics, saying his country's actions have helped reduce the threat of Hezbollah.

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Radio's crackled along the Israel-Lebanon border at 8:00 AM local time when Israeli commanders ordered their troops to halt offensive operations in Lebanon. A short while later an Israeli military spokesman said some Israeli troops had begun withdrawing from Lebanon, even though the bulk of the force will remain there until U.N. peacekeepers arrive.

Speaking to lawmakers in Israel's Knesset later in the day, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert staunchly defended the decision to go to war in Lebanon, saying Israel's actions helped eliminate a state within a state run by Hezbollah.

 
Lebanese woman reacts after looking at rubble³ of one of three destroyed houses hit by two Israeli air strikes Sunday in the village of Brital, Monday, August 14, 2006 
  
Mr. Olmert says the war changed the strategic balance in the region to Hezbollah's disadvantage, saying its supply of weaponry has been mostly destroyed, and its self-confidence undermined. He also promised to continue to pursue Hezbollah's leaders and to do everything he could to win the release of two Israeli servicemen, whose capture by Hezbollah militants on July 12 sparked the current crisis.

Mr. Olmert also asked for patience from critics who say ending hostilities⁴ now means that Israel has failed to achieve its objective of eliminating the threat from Hezbollah.

Israeli Defense⁵ Minister Amir Peretz says he will name a commission to conduct an investigation⁶ into the conduct of the military operation.

Israeli and Lebanese military officers met with the commander of U.N. forces in southern Lebanon to discuss Israel's disengagement from the country. Under the cease-fire agreement, 15,000 international peacekeepers will join the small U.N. force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL to assist Lebanese troops in carrying out the U.N. mandated⁸ goal of stopping the flow of weapons to Hezbollah.

U.N. Special Envoy⁹ To The Middle East Alvaro de Soto says the peacekeepers should start to arrive within days, and that the enhanced force should have the authority to carry out its mandate⁷.

"UNIFIL has gone through several incarnations. It now has a restricted mandate, it is only composed of 2,000 men. But it will be increased up to 15,000 and it will have a robust¹⁰ capacity to assist the government of Lebanon to carry out its responsibilities. The important point is that it is the government of Lebanon who will be taking on this responsibility and that is an important new step," he said.

Israeli officials say their troops will only withdraw from Lebanon when the peacekeepers and the Lebanese army deploy¹¹ in the south. Hezbollah leaders say while they have accepted the truce, they say they may continue fighting as long as Israeli troops stay in Lebanon. Israeli officials say under the terms of the U.N. resolution they are allowed to respond if attacked, and they warn they will, with force, if necessary.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

3 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

4 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

5 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。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

8 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

9 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

10 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

11 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。