2006年VOA标准英语-Doubts Emerge About Lebanon Peacekeeping Effort

By Meredith Buel
Washington
24 August 2006
 
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan meets with European foreign ministers Friday in Brussels where he is expected to encourage them to send armed forces to southern Lebanon to help enforce the truce¹ between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas. Some Middle East analysts³ are expressing doubts that the international peacekeeping force will be able to succeed in its mission.

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French soldiers of UNIFIL prepare their vehicles to be painted white at UN headquarters near southern border of Lebanon, Aug. 24, 2006  
  
Earlier this month the U.N. Security Council approved resolution 1701 that led to the current ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The resolution calls for the expansion of the 2,000-strong U.N. force already in southern Lebanon to 15,000 soldiers.

The resolution calls on Israel to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon and authorizes⁴ 15,000 Lebanese soldiers to work with the enhanced U.N. force to monitor the truce.

Retired⁵ U.S. Army Lieutenant⁶ General Daniel Christman, who participated in diplomatic and peacekeeping missions in the Middle East and the Balkans, says no operation is likely to succeed for the long term in Lebanon because there is no political solution in sight to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

"I fear that from a mission success standpoint this peacekeeping, this peace enforcement mission, however it will unfold, will be doomed⁷ to mission failure. This is in my judgment⁸ an underlying⁹ political problem which is yet to be resolved," he said.

  
An Indian unit from UNIFIL on top of an armored carrier patrols a road near the southern border town of Taibe, Lebanon, Aug. 23, 2006
  
The expanded U.N. force in southern Lebanon is expected to consist mostly of soldiers from European countries, although some have expressed reluctance¹⁰ to send troops until the rules of engagement are clear.

General Christman says armed forces in many countries are already stretched thin by military commitments around the globe.

"The U.N. now has 17 missions and over 85,000 troops deployed¹¹ in U.N. missions around the globe. You add East Timor to that, you add Darfur to that, and you easily crest¹² 100,000. Nations don't have those assets available," he said.

Resolution 1701 stresses that the Lebanese government must take control over all its territory and disarm¹³ Hezbollah.

Emile El-Hokayem, a Lebanese analyst² currently with the Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington, says the government in Beirut is not currently in a position to remove weapons from Hezbollah fighters.

"I just want to be clear about what the Lebanese government can do at this point," he said. "It can constrain¹⁴ and restrain Hezbollah. It currently lacks, and will for a long time lack, the political and military capability¹⁵ to disarm it. Disarming¹⁶ Hezbollah right now is not a realistic option for the government. So to be honest the debate right now is more about weapons management than disarmament. The question is whether Israel can live with that."

The director of the Military and Security Studies Program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Michael Eisenstadt, says a critical component¹⁷ of any peacekeeping force will be engineers and other soldiers who can rapidly assist with the reconstruction¹⁸ of the war-torn country.

"We learned from our experience in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere there is a golden hour," he said. "If you get in on the ground early and start with reconstruction activities, you have a much better chance of success than if the reconstruction efforts are delayed."

Eisenstadt predicts in the short-term both Israel and Hezbollah will avoid any major violations¹⁹ of the ceasefire and U.N. forces with Lebanese troops will be able to keep the peace in the near future.

Eisenstadt says, however, the recent war still left many issues unresolved, and he predicts in the future there will be a revival²⁰ of the conflict in southern Lebanon.

1 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。

2 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。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 authorizes   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

7 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

8 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

9 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

10 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

11 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

12 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

13 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

14 constrain   

vt.限制，约束；克制，抑制

参考例句：

• She tried to constrain herself from a cough in class.上课时她竭力忍住不咳嗽。
• The study will examine the factors which constrain local economic growth.这项研究将考查抑制当地经济发展的因素。

15 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

16 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

17 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

18 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

19 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

20 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。