VOA标准英语2014--Britain Hosts Emir of Qatar Amid Accusations of Terror Funding

 

Britain Hosts Emir of Qatar Amid Accusations¹ of Terror Funding

LONDON— 

The emir of Qatar will visit Britain this week amid accusations his country has financed extremist Islamist groups in Syria.  Qatari officials deny any links with extremist groups and say they are working with the West to support moderate opposition² groups in Syria.

On the battlefields of Syria and Iraq, ISIS or Islamic State boasts modern weaponry.  The group claims financial assets of tens of millions of dollars.

Analysts³ say part of that wealth was looted in Iraq and Syria.  But some Gulf⁴ States are charged with providing support for Islamist groups.  Qatar has been accused of links with al-Qaida offshoot the al-Nusra Front, says Jane Kinninmont of policy institute Chatham House.

“Quite a lot is speculation⁵; by the nature of these activities there is not a great deal in the public domain⁶.  But there are clearly very serious worries about private financing from Qatar, but also from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia," said Kinninmont.

Speaking during a trip to Berlin last month, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Bin⁷ Hamad Al-Thani, strongly denied any links with extremist groups.

"Qatar will certainly not support terrorist or extremist organizations, be it in Syria or Iraq," said Hamad Al-Thani.

On the eve of Sheikh Bin Hamad Al-Thani’s visit to London, Islamic State released a video on the Internet, purportedly⁸ showing British hostage John Cantlie forced to adopt the role of a mock television reporter in the besieged⁹ border town of Kobani.

The emergence¹⁰, and brutality¹¹, of Islamic State has forced Qatar and other Gulf states to backtrack, says Michael Stephens, head of the Royal United Services Institute in Qatar.

“I think there is a certain amount of introspection going on in the Gulf to do with what groups they were funding and how they produced the funding which then led to the creation of ISIS," said Stephens.

It is likely that moderate fighters once supported by Qatar and other Sunni states have been radicalized over that period, says Jane Kinninmont.

“Once people, money and arms go into a complex civil war that is going on over several years, some of those people may not end up exactly where you thought they were in the first place," she said.

Speaking in Egypt last week, U.S. Treasury¹² Secretary Jacob Lew pledged to take on the financial networks supporting extremist groups like ISIS.

“We are, in the United States, determined¹³ to work with all of our allies in the region, not just on a military basis, but on a financial basis to make sure that the resources do not continue to flow in," said Lew.

Several Gulf States, including Qatar, have joined the U.S.-led airstrikes on ISIS.   Again, Michael Stephens:

“There has been, by the activity of this coalition¹⁴, a sort of taking back of all these aggressive words which have been going between the West and the Middle East, about who was funding who," he said.   

The emir will meet the queen and hold talks with Prime Minister David Cameron.  Qatar has invested billions of dollars in Britain and analysts say economic ties will be high on the agenda.  

1 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

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 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 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

6 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

7 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

8 purportedly   

adv.据称

参考例句：

• This is purportedly the oldest tree in the world. 据称这是世界上最古老的一棵树。 来自互联网
• Mayor Oh Se-Hoon launched the campaign last year, purportedly to improve efficiency. 据悉，首尔市市长吴世勋于去年提出了这项旨在提高工作效率的计划。 来自互联网

9 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

10 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

11 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

12 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。