VOA标准英语2011--Israel's Border, Preparations Made for Iran-Backed Attacks

Along Israel's Border, Preparations Made for Iran-Backed Attacks

Israel and the United States are planning joint¹ military exercises in early 2012 with a focus on missile defense². The moves come amid recent Israeli media reports that Israel's government is considering an attack on Iran's controversial nuclear sites. Iran has vowed³ to hit back. In northern Israel preparations are being made for that possibility.

At Israel's northernmost border, a fence separates towns and farms in Israel and the occupied Golan Heights from southern Lebanon, a base for Hezbollah, and from Syria. Both are allies of Iran.

In December, Israel staged military exercises in the Golan. It also held emergency drills on how to respond to attacks by missiles and biological weapons.

Uzi Rubin, the former head of Israel's missile defense program, says Israel must prepare for retaliation⁴ if, as Israeli media report, Israel first attacks Iranian nuclear sites. "We don't have a good answer for that as yet. For air threats we have a very strong air force, ground threats we have a very strong ground force. For this, we are wide open yet (still)," Rubin said.

Iran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful. But Israel fears Iran is building a nuclear weapon. Iran has missiles that can reach Israel and even Europe, and could carry nuclear warheads.

Iran's ally, Syria, has thousands of short-range missiles, as does its Lebanon-based ally, Hezbollah.

Several rockets were fired into Israel recently from Lebanon. Iranian-backed Palestinian groups to the south in Gaza also fire rockets into Israel. Those attacks show how Israel is vulnerable from the north and south.

Despite the rocket fire, Rubin says the threat is not so much that Iran might launch a nuclear weapon but that it could become a nuclear power.

"The [Iranian] agenda is domination, regional - and more - domination. When they have nuclear power they will have to be treated as a major power and then they will leverage⁵ that power not just against Israel but against the rest of the world, mainly the West," Rubin said.

But analyst⁶ Mahdi Abdel Hadi of the Palestinian research center PASSIA says Israel is exaggerating the Iranian threat.

"From the Arab-Palestinian perspective, nobody believes that the Iranians are interested in confronting Israel or to challenge the world. They are facing very hard internal issues and problems," Abdel said.

But along Israel's northern border, Iran's threat is not being taken lightly. Hezbollah has reportedly been stockpiling missiles and rockets. And Israeli intelligence is sure that group would not hesitate to use them.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 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。

3 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

4 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

6 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。