VOA标准英语2013--Domestic Politics Limits Obama's Options on Syria

 

Domestic Politics Limits Obama's Options on Syria

 

As civil war continues to rage in Syria, the Obama administration is trying to confirm its belief that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against its own people.

President Obama has repeatedly said that would be a game changer.

“That would be an escalation¹ in our view of the threat to the security of the international community, our allies and the United States and that means that there are some options that we might not otherwise exercise that we would strongly consider," said President Obama.

Some Republicans believe there is enough evidence for the U.S. to act more aggressively in Syria, either by arming the rebels or establishing a no-fly zone.

Senator John McCain spoke² about a recent visit with Syrian refugees on NBC’s Meet the Press.

“This woman who was a school teacher said: 'Senator McCain, you see these children here?  They are going to take revenge on those people who refuse to help them.' They are angry and bitter and that legacy³ could last for a long time too unless we assist them," said McCain.

But even McCain opposes the deployment⁴ of U.S. ground troops, and analysts⁵ like Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution agree.

“I think the administration will be obliged to do something, or at least that is should feel obliged to do something," said O’Hanlon. "But that does not mean that we should put 75,000 Americans on the ground in Syria because of one small, limited chemical weapons use.”

Public opinion polls suggest little interest among Americans to get deeply involved in Syria, a view tourists visiting Washington seemed to confirm.

“You know, we can’t control the world and it needs to have a really, really good reason to go in there," said one.

“I think there probably is a little fatigue⁶ on putting our troops out there.  Of course there is a price to be paid for freedom and I think that we take that mantle⁷ on frequently," said another.

Americans have lost patience with foreign military involvements after lengthy⁸ wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, says Carroll Doherty of the Pew Research Center.

“I mean the public is just glad to be out," said Doherty. "They are divided over whether it was right or not and you still see the same partisan⁹ divisions.  But there is just a sense of fatigue with these struggles, even Afghanistan where troops still are.”

But those who argue for a stronger U.S. role in Syria remain hopeful the Obama administration will respond to what they see is a humanitarian¹⁰ crisis there.

Jim Arkedis is with the Progressive Policy Institute:

“As the Obama team shapes its legacy on foreign policy, there are ways to be active in the international community without necessarily sending troops and my hope is that they get to a point where they are more aggressive in promoting America’s role abroad," said Arkedis.

The latest CBS News/New York Times poll found that only 24 percent of Americans believe the U.S. has a responsibility to intervene in Syria, while 62 percent oppose the idea.

1 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

4 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

5 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。

6 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

7 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

8 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

9 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。