VOA常速英语2007年-Analysts Say Hopes for Pakistan Political Truce

By Gary Thomas
Washington
14 November 2007

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte is heading to Pakistan late this week to meet with President Pervez Musharraf.  The U.S. is hoping to cool the rising political temperature brought on by General Musharraf's imposition of a state of emergency.  But as VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, General Musharraf has already rejected U.S. calls to lift emergency rule.

Analysts¹ say hopes that U.S. intercession can change the deteriorating² political situation are dim, and become dimmer with the passage of time as both General Musharraf and his chief rival, Benazir Bhutto, harden their positions.

Robert Grenier, former CIA station chief in Islamabad, says General Musharraf would have to repudiate³ all that he has done since imposing⁴ emergency rule earlier this month, and that such a move is not likely.

"The state of emergency would have to be lifted, the constitution would have to be put back in force, the Supreme⁵ Court justices would have to be reinstated," he explained.  "Essentially⁶, at this point, to have any hope of going forward where General Musharraf would have a continuing role, he would have to completely undo⁷ everything that he has done to date.  And I don't see any sign that he's going to do that."

General Musharraf says parliamentary elections will be held by January 9.  But U.S. officials say free and fair elections cannot be held with emergency rule in place.

Opposition⁸ leader and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto returned home from self-imposed exile last month under the outlines of a broad, still-imprecise power-sharing arrangement, partially⁹ brokered¹⁰ by the United States, between her and President Musharraf.

But she has been prevented from leaving her house to lead marches or rallies.  She now says she cannot work with General Musharraf and has called for his resignation.  Most analysts say that position now makes the chances of a bringing the two sides together virtually nil¹¹.

The United States has viewed General Musharraf as an "indispensable" ally in the battle against terrorism.  Larry Goodson, a professor in security studies at the U.S. Army War College, says that has caused the United States to ignore General Musharraf's shortcomings.

"I think the problem we have in Washington is that we have always settled for the short-term strategic partnership¹² rather than the long-term 'let's build a better Pakistan that is able to be a more stable, functioning place in the world,'" he said.  "And I suspect that in the midst of a crisis like this we will hold our noses, nudge him on the margins¹³ while convincing ourselves that we're nudging him in important ways and continue to tell ourselves that he's an important ally in the war on terror and we just have to deal with it."

But Teresita Schaffer, former deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia, says there are powerful voices in the U.S. government who want to hang on to General Musharraf.  But, she adds, there is also a growing realization¹⁴ in other quarters that General Musharraf's actions have made him a liability for the United States.

"I think his moment has passed," she explained.  "And I suppose it's possible in theory that he could put together enough power simply by repression¹⁵ to stay on top, although that's becoming increasingly problematic, but what would that be worth to the United States?"

The key question, analysts say, is if the top ranks of the Pakistan Army feel that their military chief and president has become an embarrassment¹⁶ to them.

1 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。

2 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

3 repudiate   

v.拒绝，拒付，拒绝履行

参考例句：

• He will indignantly repudiate the suggestion.他会气愤地拒绝接受这一意见。
• He repudiate all debts incurred by his son.他拒绝偿还他儿子的一切债务。

4 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

8 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。

9 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

10 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

11 nil   

n.无，全无，零

参考例句：

• My knowledge of the subject is practically nil.我在这方面的知识几乎等于零。
• Their legal rights are virtually nil.他们实际上毫无法律权利。

12 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

13 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

14 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

15 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

16 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。