Correspondent Debriefer: Libya Rebels Continue to Pin Hopes

Libyan rebels and government forces have staged several offensives in the battle for control of the country. To get a clearer picture of the situation on the ground, VOA's Susan Yackee spoke¹ to our correspondent Phil Ittner who is currently in the opposition²-held town of Benghazi.
Ittner: The opposition leadership says that it has actually pushed back against what amounts to a counter-offensive by government troops. Those lines in the desert seem to be moving back and forth³. Now, independently confirming where exactly the frontline is very difficult. Not only is it too dangerous for many journalists to go [there], but it's a wide frontline, it being an open desert.
The opposition says, however, that they pushed back into the oil town of Brega, that they took prisoners, that they killed some soldiers and pushed back against a government offensive.
Yackee: Are the rebels feeling demoralized?
Ittner: It comes and goes for the mood and the morale⁴ here in opposition-held [parts of] Libya. There is occasionally an awful lot of anxiety when they see the government pushing in this direction, but then it reverses when they think they are on the cusp of getting the international no-fly zone. Obviously, they are keeping a very close eye on diplomatic efforts both in Brussels and in New York.
A lot of the opposition leadership is heartened by the fact that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is meeting with an opposition delegation⁵ in Paris today. They do also point to the fact, at least in their minds, what they say, is the status of Gadhafi's forces. They say that the actual troops of Mr. Gadhafi are demoralized; they are stretched with their supply lines, that he actually has very few frontline-proficient expert troops, that he is relying on his artillery⁶, his planes and his tanks, and that the troops he has are actually demoralized.
VOA - E. Arrott
VOA correspondent Phil Ittner on assignment in Benghazi, Libya So the mood does change within the opposition day-to-day. But the fact that apparently⁷ they have pushed back into Brega, the fact that they have captured opposition troops or so they say, and that these troops seem to be in a very poor state shows, in their minds, once there is movement on the international no-fly zone, that they will flood into the west quite quickly and that what they call the house of cards of Mr. Gadhafi's forces will collapse⁸ quickly.
Yackee: Libyan state television is saying that the government has offered amnesty to any soldier that had defected and joined the rebels, but returns and surrenders to the military – is there any reaction to that?
Ittner: Actually, quite to the contrary. The opposition says that they are getting more defectors, that people are coming to their side, and that this kind of offer just shows the desperation in Tripoli of the Gadhafi regime. They also point to the fact that they have just appointed a new commander of their forces, a gentleman by the name of Abdel Yunis, who was the commander of the special forces brigade, who defected early in the uprising, but was reluctant to take command because of the command structure. Apparently, he felt that he could not take orders from officers that had previously⁹ been working under him.
And there was some reluctance¹⁰ on the opposition's side, because Yunis had been very close to the Gadhafi regime. So although he had defected, he had not been on the front lines - him or his reported 2,500 soldiers . [unintelligible] ... this coincides with what the opposition is saying – that it was a tactical maneuver¹¹ that helped them move back into Brega. So, if you put the two together – the fact that there is a new military commander on the opposition side, and if reports that they moved back into Brega are accurate, it does show that there is a shift in the opposition forces and that there is a little bit more proficiency¹².
All of this is, of course, very hard to confirm and the accuracy of where that frontline is and what is going on on that frontline is very difficult [to ascertain]. There is a lot of concern among the opposition forces about possible fifth-columnists or infiltrators, pro-Gadhafi elements that may sneak¹³ into what is basically a volunteers force – so there is some anxiety there, some suspicion, and so there is a lot more control of movement leading to the frontline.
In addition to that there has been some souring of attitudes toward journalists, because they think that some of the information the world press is putting out is assisting the intelligence gathering¹⁴ capability¹⁵ of Mr. Gadhafi. So it's very tenuous¹⁶ on the frontline. It's very hard to get an accurate report, but here in Benghazi what the opposition is saying is: yes, we have seen setbacks, but we are convinced that this is only due to the heavy weaponry the government can bring to bear, not the amount of troops or the support or will of the people. The opposition says: when we get this no-fly-zone, this thing will collapse quickly and the Gadhafi family will run into exile in short order.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 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。

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

5 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

6 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

10 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

11 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

12 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

13 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

14 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

15 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

16 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。