VOA标准英语2012--Could Israel Take Out Iran's Nuclear Sites? Experts Say Perhaps, But...

Could Israel Take Out Iran's Nuclear Sites? Experts Say Perhaps, But...

Israel is concerned that a window of opportunity is fast closing as Iran starts moving some of its uranium enrichment facilities to hardened underground sites. The concern has fueled talk of possible Israeli bomb and missile strikes on Iranian facilities.
Michael Eisenstadt, director of Military and Security Studies at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says Israeli aircraft could reach the Iranian targets if they know where all of them are.
“I think they have the range, they have the weapons systems, they have the ordnance¹ that they could drop on these facilities. The question is whether they have the intelligence and whether they have the ability to impose significant enough damage to justify² the risk from their point of view,” Eisenstadt said.
But analysts³ say that for a successful strike, the attack plan would have to be perfect, the intelligence flawless, the weather clear, and the targeting accurate.
Analysts say the Israelis would have to jam Iranian warning systems and also knock out - “suppress” in military jargon⁴ - all air defenses, assuming that they know where they are.
Intelligence historian Matthew Aid says the chances of success, at least in theory, are not good. He questions whether Israel has sufficiently⁵ powerful bombs, known as “bunker busters,” capable of destroying hardened facilities.
"They may be able to damage badly the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, which is near the city of Esfahan. But the Fordow uranium enrichment facility, which is near the holy city of Qom, is built into the side of a mountain and may be impervious⁶ to the kind of munitions⁷ that the Israelis currently possess," Aid said.
Any aerial path from Israel to Iran would require refueling en route, making the fighter-bomber aircraft vulnerable over potentially hostile airspace, such as Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, or Syria. Michael Eisenstadt, however, believes that may not be a problem.
"Given attitudes in the Arab world towards Iran and Iran’s nuclear program, I think a lot of Arab countries would quietly applaud if Israel were to do this. And if Israel had to overfly their territories in order to get to Iran, I don’t think that they would do anything," Eisenstadt said.
But on one point analysts agree: any strike at Iran will at best retard⁸ Iran’s nuclear program, perhaps for a year or two…and will almost certainly invite Iranian retaliation⁹ against Israel and perhaps against U.S. and allied¹⁰ interests as well.

1 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

2 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

3 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。

4 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

5 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

6 impervious   

adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的

参考例句：

• He was completely impervious to criticism.他对批评毫不在乎。
• This material is impervious to gases and liquids.气体和液体都透不过这种物质。

7 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

8 retard   

n.阻止，延迟；vt.妨碍，延迟，使减速

参考例句：

• Lack of sunlight will retard the growth of most plants.缺乏阳光会妨碍大多数植物的生长。
• Continuing violence will retard negotiations over the country's future.持续不断的暴力活动会阻碍关系到国家未来的谈判的进行。

9 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》

10 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。