VOA标准英语2008年-US-Pakistan Relationship Seen as Real Target of

The terrorist attack that killed 60 people Saturday in Pakistan struck the Marriott hotel, part of an American-based chain. As VOA Correspondent Gary Thomas reports, many analysts² believe the real target of the attack were not Western interests, but Pakistani.
　
View of destruction caused by bomb explosion at hotel in Islamabad, 20 Sep 2008

As one of only two top-flight hotels in Pakistan's capital the Islamabad Marriott was not only the temporary lodging³ of choice for many visiting foreigners, but a status symbol for Pakistan's political, business, and military elite⁴.

Officials met contacts and supplicants in the coffee shop, intelligence agents prowled the lobby, and affluent⁵ parents threw lavish⁶ wedding receptions in the hotel banquet halls.

RAND Corporation Pakistan analyst¹ Christine Fair says attacking the Marriott was a clear message from the terrorists to the government of new President Asif Ali Zardari.

"As much as terrifying the Westerners who love to ensconce themselves in that hotel, I really see the target of this being Pakistan's elite, and trying to sharpen the debate about abandoning the U.S. and in fact trying to drive the Pakistani elite into making that decision," said Fair.

The United States has been pushing Pakistan to get tough with Islamic militants⁸ who use the tribal⁹ areas along the Afghan border to launch attacks on U.S. and coalition¹⁰ troops in Afghanistan. The United States nurtured¹¹ the counter-terrorism relationship first with the former military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, and seeks to continue it under the new government of President Zardari.

But the U.S.-counterterrorism effort is not popular in Pakistan. The situation has become more tense with increased U.S. Predator¹² drone missile strikes at suspected al-Qaida and Taliban safe havens¹³ in Pakistan, and reports of at least one incursion by U.S. troops into Pakistan in pursuit of the militants.

Local Pakistani militants, who are sympathetic to al-Qaida but not necessarily part of it, have increasingly stepped up attacks inside Pakistan to challenge the government.

At least some elements in the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI and the military are believed by analysts to be sympathetic to the militants. Christine Fair says that in attacking a Pakistani target the militants are biting the hand that once fed them.

"The Pakistanis can blame the Bush-Musharraf relationship for sort of setting the stage. But had they not been nurturing¹⁴ all these nut jobs for so many decades - not years, decades - there would not be these people to blow up their hotels. And they would not have this capacity that they have developed, not over two years but over three decades, to execute this kind of attack," added Fair.

A Pakistan analyst at the Royal Institute for International Affairs in London, Farzana Shaikh, says there is still intense debate about how deep those military-to-militant⁷ ties still are.

"There is a school of thought that believes that militant groups [who] once enjoyed the protection of sections of the military leadership, sections of the intelligence agencies, have now become autonomous¹⁵ and operate independently of their masters. There are others - certainly within the Bush administration - who feel and who believe and who are absolutely persuaded that there are still very close links between elements of Pakistan's intelligence agencies and militant groups," said Shaikh.

It is not clear if this attack and others will drive a wedge between Islamabad and Washington, as the militants want, or have the opposite effect of pushing them together. Christine Fair says much will depend on how Pakistanis' public perceptions turn in coming days and weeks.

"It is entirely¹⁶ possible that the militants will have miscalculated with this one. But it all depends on how the Pakistani media spins it. I mean, that is going to be really critical. It is going to depend on how the ISI plants articles in the Urdu media," continued Fair. "The battle for this is really going to be played out in the Pakistani media, and how the media shapers decide to craft and frame this message."

But analysts say the final arbiter¹⁷ of Pakistan's direction will not be President Zardari but - as it has so often been in the past - the army.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 lodging   

n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
• Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?

4 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

5 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

6 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

7 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

8 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。

9 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

10 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

11 nurtured   

养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• She is looking fondly at the plants he had nurtured. 她深情地看着他培育的植物。
• Any latter-day Einstein would still be spotted and nurtured. 任何一个未来的爱因斯坦都会被发现并受到培养。

12 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

13 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

14 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

15 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

16 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。

17 arbiter   

n.仲裁人，公断人

参考例句：

• Andrew was the arbiter of the disagreement.安德鲁是那场纠纷的仲裁人。
• Experiment is the final arbiter in science.实验是科学的最后仲裁者。