VOA标准英语2015--Saudi Leaks Expose ‘Checkbook Diplomacy’ in Battle With Iran

Saudi Leaks Expose ‘Checkbook Diplomacy¹’ in Battle With Iran

LONDON—

Saudi Arabia’s willingness to wield² its oil money on the global diplomatic stage appears to have been laid bare, after the website WikiLeaks published tens of thousands of leaked cables from Riyadh’s Ministry³ of Foreign Affairs. WikiLeaks has not revealed its source, but a group calling itself the "Yemen cyber army" has claimed it hacked⁴ government servers.

In one of the most conservative and secretive kingdoms on Earth, the leak of thousands of confidential⁵ diplomatic cables has caused shockwaves in Riyadh.

The documents appear to simply confirm widely held suspicions, according to Jane Kinninmont of London-based policy institute Chatham House.

“The leaks seem to be confirming most people’s existing assumptions and beliefs that Saudi Arabia has a number of politicians in other countries effectively on its payroll⁶. And that they wield significant influence in the Arab media also through financial means,” said Kinninmont.

'Checkbook diplomacy'

One diplomatic cable suggests Saudi Arabia bailed⁷ out a bankrupt Lebanese television station for $2 million, in return for positive media coverage⁸. The cables suggest Lebanon is being used as a key battleground between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran.

“Some of the details may be embarrassing. Not necessarily so much for the Saudis as for the recipients⁹ of the money,” said Kinninmont.

The fear of exposure could drive Saudi’s allies away from its so-called "checkbook diplomacy," said Arab affairs analyst¹⁰ Abdel Bari Atwan.

“Many people will think not just twice, maybe 10 times, before they are asking for the Saudi money or accepting the Saudi money, Saudi gifts,” said Atwan.

Another cable purportedly¹¹ accused Qatar of giving $250 million to an influential¹² sheikh in Yemen in return for fomenting¹³ an army rebellion in the country during the 2012 election of President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. Saudi Arabia is currently conducting a bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia’s main priority will be finding out who made the leak, said Abdel Bari Atwan.

“How those hackers¹⁴ managed actually to reach the Saudi files, and to hijack¹⁵ or to put their hands on these huge documents,” said Atwan.

Fear of exposure

It likely will result in a dramatic tightening¹⁶ of online security, said Kinninmont.

“Saudi Arabia’s already very concerned about cybersecurity. They have had a cyber-attack previously¹⁷ on [oil company] Saudi Aramco. And I think this will be another wake-up call,” she said.

Analysts¹⁸ say the leaked cables do not contain any shocking revelations, such as funding Sunni extremist groups fighting the Iran-backed government of Syria.

“So far no indication that the foreign ministry has been involved in sending resources to Jabhat al-Nusra or to Islamic State in Syria," said Kinninmont. "It talks about their overt¹⁹ and public support for the SNC [opposition Syrian National Council].  But in any case, any such support would not be likely to go through the foreign ministry channels; it would be more likely to be covert²⁰.”

WikiLeaks says more cables will be released in the coming weeks, raising the potential for the diplomatic dealings of this secretive state will be further exposed. 

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

5 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

6 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

7 bailed   

保释，帮助脱离困境( bail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Fortunately the pilot bailed out before the plane crashed. 飞机坠毁之前，驾驶员幸运地跳伞了。
• Some water had been shipped and the cook bailed it out. 船里进了些水，厨师把水舀了出去。

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

9 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 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。

11 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

12 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

13 fomenting   

v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They accused him of fomenting political unrest. 他们指控他煽动政治动乱。
• Three sailors were fomenting a mutiny on the ship. 三个水手正在船上煽动叛变。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

15 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

16 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

17 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。

18 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。

19 overt   

adj.公开的，明显的，公然的

参考例句：

• His opponent's intention is quite overt.他的对手的意图很明显。
• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。

20 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。