VOA标准英语--特朗普表示如有必要，将对叙利亚采取进一步行动

US Envoy¹ to UN: Trump² Will Strike Syria Again if Necessary

WASHINGTON — The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is suggesting if President Donald Trump needs to carry out more military strikes on Syria, he will.

"He will not stop here," Ambassador Nikki Haley told CNN on Sunday. "If he needs to do more, he will."

But Haley and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gave mixed signals on the priority of removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power.

"There's not any sort of option where a political solution is going to happen with Assad at the head of the regime," Haley said. "If you look at his actions, if you look at the situation, it's going to be hard to see a government that's peaceful and stable with Assad.

"Regime change is something that we think is going to happen," she said.

But Tillerson said defeating Islamic State is still the paramount³ U.S. goal in Syria.

"It's important that we keep our priorities straight," Tillerson told CBS's "Face the Nation." "And we believe that the first priority is the defeat of ISIS," an acronym⁴ for the Islamic State group.

"Once the ISIS threat has been reduced or eliminated," Tillerson said, "I think we can turn our attention directly to stabilizing⁵ the situation in Syria."

The top U.S. diplomat⁶ added, "We're hopeful that we can prevent a continuation of the civil war and that we can bring the parties to the table to begin the process of political discussions" between the Assad government and various rebel groups trying to overthrow⁷ the Damascus regime.

Syria resumes airstrikes

On Saturday, Syrian warplanes resumed flights from an air base targeted in Friday's U.S. cruise missile attack, according to a provincial⁸ governor who said the base was operating from what he described as "a first phase."

The comments from Homs provincial Governor Talal Barazi came just hours after the Syrian government said the U.S. missile attack on the Shayrat air base had caused extensive damage.

Barazi did not offer further details, and the U.S. Defense⁹ Department referred questions about conditions at the air base to the Damascus government.

Monitors from the British-based Syrian Observatory¹⁰ for Human Rights earlier said Syrian warplanes were able to take off from the base Friday and struck rebel targets in eastern parts of the province.

It was not clear whether planes from Shayrat participated in strikes Saturday that killed at least 18 civilians¹¹ near the small city of Sheikhoun. That city was hit early last week by chemical weapons that U.S. authorities say were fired by Syrian warplanes, sparking an international outcry and the U.S. cruise missile retaliation¹² three days later. Russia says that a conventional airstrike hit a rebel depot¹³ containing "toxic¹⁴ substances."

The Observatory said the Saturday strikes may have been carried out by Russian warplanes, which began backing Syrian military operations last year.

Trump: runways not primary targets

Trump ordered the missile strikes on Shayrat after rescue workers said at least 100 people were killed and hundreds of others wounded in the chemical strikes at Sheikhoun.

Trump later suggested on Twitter the Shayrat runways had not been the primary missile targets. He did not elaborate, other than to note that runways are easily and quickly repaired.

A U.S. Navy admiral said the missile strikes had destroyed the ability of the Syrian military to launch chemical strikes from the base. Admiral Michelle Howard, who heads U.S. naval¹⁵ forces in Europe and Africa, told Reuters U.S. forces are prepared to carry out further strikes if needed.

Assad's government has repeatedly denied using chemical weaponry in its fight against rebels seeking to topple the Damascus regime.

Idlib under rebel control

Idlib province is largely controlled by a rebel alliance that includes al-Qaida-linked fighters who have battled to oust¹⁶ the Damascus government for most of the past six years. Idlib's rebel population has swelled¹⁷ in recent months, due largely to a series of agreements with Damascus allowing rebels safe passage to the province from other areas of the country.

The province remains¹⁸ a primary target Syrian and Russian jet fighters.

In related developments, Syria's state news agency SANA said Saturday hundreds more Syrian rebels and their families have left the last opposition-held neighborhood in the central city of Homs, under a Russia-brokered deal granting them safe passage to other areas of the country.

Saturday's evacuations are the fourth set of rebel withdrawals¹⁹ from Homs, under the deal negotiated in early February.

1 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

4 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

5 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

6 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

7 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

8 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

11 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

12 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》

13 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

14 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

15 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

16 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

17 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

18 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

19 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句