2006年VOA标准英语-Israeli Reservists Criticize Olmert Government'

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
21 August 2006

U.N. envoys¹ held talks in Israel on Monday as pressure mounted on the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for a state inquiry² into the conduct of the month-long conflict in Lebanon. VOA's Jim Teeple has more from our Jerusalem bureau.

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Israeli reserve soldiers protest outside prime minister's office in Jerusalem, calling for investigation³ into Israeli leadership's performance during fighting with Hezbollah, Aug. 21, 2006   
  
Angry army reservists marched to a park near Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office to demand an official inquiry into the conduct of government officials and senior military officers during the conflict in Lebanon.

Reservists like Yossi Avigor say they went into battle without enough equipment, or proper direction about what their mission was. He says senior officials responsible for the conduct of the war should resign.

"I do not think they should remain in their offices," he said. "When we came to the army we thought all the storages had everything. I did not have a vest. If I did not bring a vest from home I could not have gone to battle. I had a friend who got an army shirt on the third day. We think that everybody without exception should pay the price for this fault in the war."

A separate group of reserve parachutists have published a letter in a leading Israeli newspaper, saying indecision by their superiors, led to the cancellation⁴ of all of their missions. In their letter the reservists say their experience was typical of many soldiers and was one reason why Israel was unable to "deliver a knockout blow to Hezbollah," which one day before a ceasefire went into effect launched nearly 250 rockets against towns in northern Israel.

Speaking Monday on a tour of rocket-damaged buildings in the north, Prime Minister Olmert rejected the criticism, saying he would not slander⁵ the army or engage in self-flagellation.

Israeli Defense⁶ Minister Amir Peretz has said the government will conduct an inquiry, but the protesting reservists and their supporters in Israel's Knesset, or parliament, are calling for state commission of inquiry like those that examined failures by Israel's commanders during wars in 1973 and 1982. In 1982, then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon was forced to resign after being found indirectly⁷ responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians who were killed by Lebanese Christian⁸ militias⁹ allied¹⁰ with Israel.

Two senior U.N. envoys, Terje Roed Larson and Vijay Nambiar, held talks with senior Israeli officials on Monday. U.N. officials say they hope to finalize¹¹ the rules of engagement for the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon in the next few days. A number of potential peacekeeping nations have said they will not send troops to the projected 15,000-member force as long as the mission and the rules of engagement remain ill-defined. 

Ehud Olmert, pauses during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul in Jerusalem, Aug. 20, 2006   
  
Prime Minister Olmert says his country wants Italy to lead the force. Speaking Monday, after talks with Turkey's Foreign Minister, he said he hoped Turkey would also join the effort.

"Turkey is trusted by Israel and can play an important stabilizing¹² role in the Middle East," Olmert said.

Among the issues reportedly discussed between Israeli officials and U.N. envoys on Monday was a prisoner swap¹³ between Israel and Hezbollah. Late Monday, U.N. officials in Lebanon confirmed that five Lebanese men seized by Israeli forces during a commando raid on the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek had been handed over to U.N. peacekeepers.

In his remarks on Monday, Prime Minister Olmert also rejected resuming peace talks with Syria. Some of Mr. Olmert's cabinet colleagues have called for a resumption of talks with Syria. But Mr. Olmert says Syria will not be a partner for peace until it stops supporting Hezbollah and threatening Israel.

1 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

2 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

3 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。

4 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

5 slander   

n./v.诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• The article is a slander on ordinary working people.那篇文章是对普通劳动大众的诋毁。
• He threatened to go public with the slander.他威胁要把丑闻宣扬出去。

6 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。

7 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 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

10 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。

11 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

12 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

13 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。