VOA标准英语2009年-US House Overwhelmingly Passes Resolution

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
04 November 2009

 
A cloud of smoke billows from the Gaza Strip following an Israeli strikes as seen from the Israel-Gaza border, 15 Jan 2009
The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning¹ a report by a United Nations fact-finding panel that criticized Israel as part of an assessment² of the conflict in Gaza in 2008 between Israel and Hamas.  House lawmakers approved the symbolic³ measure by a vote of 344 to 36.

In its report, the U.N. panel headed by South African Judge Richard Goldstone said Israeli forces and Palestinian Hamas forces committed violations⁴ of international law, including war crimes, during the 22-day conflict which left 1400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.

Among its recommendations, the panel said Israel, and Hamas which controls Gaza, should face potential prosecution⁵ in The Hague if they do not conduct independent and credible⁶ investigations⁷ within six months.

But the report provoked angry reaction in Congress, where many lawmakers condemned⁸ it as biased⁹, while others asserted it contained balanced criticism of Israel and Hamas.

The House resolution calls the commission's report irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy¹⁰ and urges the Obama administration, which has already condemned it, to strongly oppose its endorsement¹¹ by the United Nations.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was among Democrats¹² and Republicans characterizing the Goldstone report as biased, and taking aim at the U.N. Human Rights Council which established its mandates¹³.

"The Human Rights Council mandates for the report specifically targeted Israeli actions, ignoring, ignoring the deliberate Hamas attacks on civilians¹⁴ [in Israel] that provoked Israel's self-defense¹⁵ in Operation Cast Lead [Israeli military operation in Gaza in 2008," said Steny Hoyer.

However, Republicans and Democratic opponents said the resolution itself was biased, asserting that by passing it the House would be demonstrating it wants to cover up the truth about actions in Gaza by both Hamas and Israel.

Democratic Representative Betty McCollum:

"This resolution is blatantly¹⁶ biased and it damages U.S. credibility," said Betty McCollum. "This resolution seeks to hide the ugliness of the Gaza war by covering up violent excesses committed against innocent civilians by both Hamas and the Israeli Defense [Forces]."

Republican Representative David Price asserted that passage would also complicate¹⁷ U.S. efforts for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and negatively impact Israel's own investigations:

"Israel is a strong and resilient democracy," saidd David Price. "Successfully investigating this episode could only make it stronger, but we shouldn't pass this resolution now which could actually hinder the wheels of justice before they have ever begun to turn."

Richard Goldstone, who headed the U.N. inquiry¹⁸, wrote last week to the Democratic chairman and senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Howard Berman and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, demanding changes to correct what he called serious factual inaccuracies.

 
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (file photo)
Though he and Ros-Lehtinen agreed to some changes, Congressman¹⁹ Berman asserted that the commission's conclusions remain flawed. He said lawmakers needed to voice a position before Wednesday's U.N. General Assembly consideration of a resolution supported by Arab countries on the Goldstone report.

"The fact is, I truly believe the report is flawed," said Howard Berman.

Israel and the United States have urged foreign governments to vote against the resolution on the Goldstone report.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have called for implementation²⁰ of its recommendations. Human Rights Watch urged U.S lawmakers to vote against resolution in the House of Representatives.

Besides urging the Obama administration to oppose any further consideration of the Goldstone report in multi-lateral forums²¹, or measures stemming from it, the resolution also reaffirms support for Israel's security and right to self-defense, and its right to defend its citizens from violent militant²² groups and their state sponsors.

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 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

4 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。

5 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

6 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

7 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

8 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

9 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

10 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

11 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

12 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

14 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

15 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。

16 blatantly   

ad.公开地

参考例句：

• Safety guidelines had been blatantly ignored. 安全规章被公然置之不顾。
• They walked grandly through the lobby, blatantly arm in arm, pretending they were not defeated. 他们大大方方地穿过门厅，故意炫耀地挎着胳膊，假装他们没有被打败。

17 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

18 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。

19 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

20 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

21 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

22 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。