VOA常速英语2007年-US Condemns Assassination of Lebanese General

By David Gollust
Washington
12 December 2007

The United States Wednesday joined other countries in condemning¹ the Beirut car bomb assassination² of Lebanese Brigadier General Francois al-Hajj, who was set to have become the country's army chief. The assassination, the latest in a series targeting key Lebanese figures, comes amid an ongoing³ political crisis in the Middle East country. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State.

The United States is condemning the killing⁴ of General al-Hajj as another vicious and cowardly attack against Lebanon and its institutions, and it is reiterating⁵ that Lebanese should be allowed to determine their political future without foreign interference or influence.

General al-Hajj, a Maronite Christian⁶, had played a key role in the Lebanese army's successful drive against al-Qaida-inspired militants⁷ in a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli earlier this year - a campaign backed up by an airlift of U.S. military aid.

He had also been considered the leading candidate to replace the current Lebanese army chief, General Michel Suleiman, who is expected to be elected president of the country next week after a long political stalemate.

White House National Security Council Spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the United States strongly condemns⁸ the assassination of General al-Hajj, which he said came as a crucial time as Lebanon seeks to maintain a democratically-elected government. Johndroe said President Bush will continue to stand with Lebanese people as they counter those who attempt to undermind their security and freedom.

General al-Hajj, who died along with a bodyguard⁹ in a bomb blast in a Christian suburb of Beirut, was the ninth fatality¹⁰ in a string of assassinations¹¹ targeting mainly anti-Syrian Lebanese political figures since 2005.

The United States publicly implicated¹² Syria in past killings¹³ but in comments here, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said U.S. officials do not know who might be responsible for Wednesday's bombing. McCormack said it was positive that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem had denounced the attack.

"Of course, any sort of denunciation of violence by governments in the region is positive if continued over time. And if backed up by actions, those denunciations help create a climate whereby violence is not a political tool. So while denunciations are useful, they need to be backed up by actions," he said.

The frosty U.S.-Syrian relationship has warmed at least slightly in recent weeks, with the Damascus government sending a deputy minister to the U.S. organized Annapolis conference on Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

But McCormack said it is not entirely¹⁴ clear if Syria has committed to turning away from the use of violence as a political tool, and said Damascus certainly continues to support radical¹⁵ groups trying to undermine progress in the regional peace process.

The Lebanon situation is expected to be discussed early next week in Paris, when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets senior French officials and attends an international donors¹⁶ conference Monday for Palestinian institution-building.

The State Department said Wednesday Rice will also meet in Paris with her colleagues from the international Middle East Quartet - which consists of Russia, the European Union, the United Nations and the United States - as a follow-up to the Annapolis conference.

1 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 reiterating   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He keeps reiterating his innocence. 他一再申明他无罪。
• The Chinese government also sent a note to the British government, reiterating its position. 中国政府同时将此立场照会英国政府。

6 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。

7 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。

8 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

10 fatality   

n.不幸，灾祸，天命

参考例句：

• She struggle against fatality in vain.她徒然奋斗反抗宿命。
• He began to have a growing sense of fatality.他开始有一种越来越强烈的宿命感。

11 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

12 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

14 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

15 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

16 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》