PBS高端访谈:沙特空袭也门造成重大伤亡

 　　HARI SREENIVASAN: We turn now to the ongoing¹ civil war in Yemen, where the civilian² death toll³ grew over the weekend.

　　More than 140 people died after what witnesses say was an airstrike on a funeral on Saturday in the capital city of Sanaa. The Saudi air force has been bombing the country for months, with logistical assistance from the U.S. Reports from the scene said it was U.S.-made bombs that were dropped on the funeral.

　　The Saudi-backed government in Yemen is fighting Houthi rebels, as well as al-Qaida forces. At least 10,000 people have died over the last 18 months, and more than million have been displaced. And on Sunday, a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer in the Red Sea was targeted by Houthi missiles fired from the Yemeni coast. The Navy says the missiles detonated short of the target, leaving the ship untouched.

　　We begin with this report from Neil Connery of Independent Television News.

　　NEIL CONNERY, ITN: They're burying the dead in Sanaa, dozens of burials for those killed in this weekend's funeral attack.

　　On the streets, thousands came to mourn the capital's governor, his picture looking down on his own procession. The governor was one of hundreds of people packed into the funeral hall when it was hit by a Saudi-led coalition⁴ airstrike. But even as they pay their respects to the governor's family, the jets are back again, their roar heard overhead.

　　As Sanaa buries its dead, there is rising anger at the weekend funeral attack, and, with it, calls for revenge. Hopes for peace here have never seemed so far away.

　　MAN: It means to us war. We need war. We will kill or be killed. That's for us, blood for blood, and eye for eye.

　　NEIL CONNERY: Yemen's tragedy has a new chapter, the single deadliest attack in its 19-month war. In the capital, as they cover the graves of its victims, how many more will follow?

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: And to Jeffrey Brown.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Yesterday, Secretary of State Kerry spoke⁵ with Saudi officials and called for an immediate⁶ cessation of hostilities⁷. And a National Security Council spokesman said that the U.S. would review its support of the Saudi-led coalition.

　　For more on the situation, I'm joined by Michael Hanna, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation.

　　Welcome to you.

　　There was already so much concern and anger over civilian casualties and deaths in this conflict. How important is this new incident?

　　MICHAEL HANNA, The Century Foundation: Well, it's gotten a lot more attention than this war usually does.

　　And I think that's partly because of the nature of this attack and the scope of the damage. This was a really horrific attack. It happened on a funeral hall with a huge number of senior Yemeni figures, tribal⁸ figures and political leaders. And it does seem like a difference in time, like a red line had been crossed in bombing this kind of funeral gathering⁹.

　　And for that reason, it's gotten a lot of attention and a lot of negative attention. And the reaction of the United States has been different. We have seen horrific bombings in the past, but this has elicited¹⁰ a different kind of response from the United States.

　　沙特空袭也门造成重大伤亡

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Before we get to that, just remind us briefly¹¹ where things stand in this conflict in Yemen. And what's behind the Saudi-led bombing?

　　MICHAEL HANNA: Well, the Saudi military campaign began in March of 2015, so it's been going on about a year-and-a-half.

　　And, of course, Yemen and Saudi are border countries, so Saudi has looked at Yemen differently than it does at other conflicts, say, Syria, for example. That being said, it is quite different to see Saudi Arabia engaged in direct military conflict.

　　They began a military campaign about a year-and-a-half ago. They were joined by other Gulf¹² states. And, of course, they are getting support from the United States and the United Kingdom. And so this is a difference in kind.

　　I think Saudi Arabia sees the region changing. It's quite concerned about the influence of Iran. It sees in the Houthis, the rebel movement that essentially¹³ overthrew¹⁴ the government in Yemen, as a kind of extension of Iranian influence, as a proxy¹⁵ force.

　　And while the United States has a differing view of the conflict, doesn't necessarily agree about the Saudi analysis of the conflict, it has clearly reached a point for Saudi Arabia in its own calculations that enough is enough. And some of this is about establishing deterrent¹⁶ capacity and trying to change the kind of regional balance of power at the moment.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Well, so, to the extent the U.S. has supported this Saudi effort, and yet there have been many strains, particularly over casualties among civilians¹⁷. What now? When they talk about a review, what do you see happening?

　　MICHAEL HANNA: Well, I think it's high time that there is a review. The statement by the NSC this weekend suggested that U.S. security operation is not a blank check.

　　And I think, for a long time now, the United States has hoped that the Saudis and others would essentially declare victory and focus on a political settlement. And I think that's still the American position. And that has been voiced publicly and privately¹⁸.

　　But I do think this seems different, that the United States, because of this latest incident, is going to be much more keen in bringing about a cessation of hostilities, and much more keen on focusing on the diplomatic track, which has sputtered¹⁹ on through various iterations, but has failed to have any kind of lasting²⁰ impact.

　　But I think the United States has a very different view about the utility — the continuing utility of this military campaign and the prospects²¹ for it to be particularly successful in the coming months.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: All right, Michael Hanna, thank you very much.

　　MICHAEL HANNA: Thank you.

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 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。

5 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。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

8 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 elicited   

引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Threats to reinstate the tax elicited jeer from the Opposition. 恢复此项征税的威胁引起了反对党的嘲笑。
• The comedian's joke elicited applause and laughter from the audience. 那位滑稽演员的笑话博得观众的掌声和笑声。

11 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

12 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。

13 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

14 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

15 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

16 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

17 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。

18 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

19 sputtered   

v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出

参考例句：

• The candle sputtered out. 蜡烛噼啪爆响着熄灭了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The balky engine sputtered and stopped. 不听使唤的发动机劈啪作响地停了下来。 来自辞典例句

20 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

21 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。