Lebanon

Moment of truth

May 10th 2008 | CAIRO
From Economist.com

An escalation^① of conflict in Lebanon

AFP

SINCE Lebanon’s fiendishly^② complex politics polarised ^③into two viciously邪恶地 feuding 世仇的factions小集团，内讧 in the aftermath of the July, 2006 war with Israel, observers have predicted a slide into the kind of chaos that reigned during the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war. But aside from a few assassinations and occasional gunplay, along with verbal 口头的 mudslinging揭发隐私 and further erosion 侵蚀of the weak constitutional mecnanisms that hold the state together, not much happened. Suddenly, though, matters have escalated dramatically.

The showdown began last weekend, when the Western-backed parliamentary majority and its rump cabinet, known as the March 14th Movement, crossed what was termed被称作。。。 a red line by Hizbullah, the powerful Shia party-cum militia that is the main force in a broad-ranging opposition backed by Syria and Iran. It declared illegal the sophisticated communications network Hizbullah uses to link its strongholds in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the capital, to the largely Shia southern and eastern parts of the country.

The opposition responded fiercely. A strike called by blue-collar trade unions on Wednesday rapidly degenerated into clashes along the lines that divide Sunni and Shia parts of the capital. Shia militia blocked the main arteries in Beirut, including access to the airport, with earthen barricades. Sunnis responded by blocking the main roads linking Beirut to Syria and to the south.

Late on Thursday, Hizbullah’s charismatic chief, Hassan Nasrallah, raised the ante赌金 筹码 by condemning the government’s moves as an act of war against the ‘resistance’ which had successfully fought against Israel. “The communications network is a significant part of the weapons of the resistance,” he declared. “I had said that we will cut the hand that targets the weapons of the resistance...Today is the day to fulfill this decision.”

His words highlighted a deep political divide that goes beyond sectarianism（宗派主义）, which pits those who see Lebanon as prey to a Western plot密谋策划 to dominate the region against those who see the chief plotters as Iran and Syria. It is along these lines that the narrative of events, such as who was responsible for the devastating 2006 war with Israel, diverges,分歧 with the Lebanese divided almost equally on either side.

By Friday Shia gunmen had battled their way into relatively affluent and Sunni-dominated West Beirut. Resistance by the poorly armed and organized militias allied to March 14th faded swiftly, although at least 11 people died in fighting conducted with machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket propelled grenades手雷. Lebanon’s conscript征兵 army, one of the few relatively non-sectarian state institutions, stayed out of street battles, apparently wary小心的，机警的 of being drawn into a sectarian squabble争吵，口角. It did negotiate to protect some March 14th politicians and affiliated 附属的，有关联的institutions, amid signs that Hizbullah, having shown its superior force, might refrain from maintaining a provocative occupation of Sunni districts.

The days of strife appeared to leave Hizbullah and its allies, which include another Shia party, Amal, Christians adherents of former army commander Michel Aoun, and parties loyal to Syria, in a stronger position. Since November 2006 they have declared the government illegal, demanding a blocking number of seats in a national unity cabinet, new electoral laws, and the exclusion of the ‘resistance’ from UN Security Council demands for the disarming of Lebanese militias. The March 14th Movement, citing its parliamentary majority多数党, and accusing Hizbullah of collusion共谋 with Iran, has held its ground, trusting in backing from America and its regional allies. Since last November bickering between the two factions has prevented the election by parliament of a new president, despite consensus over the suitability of the army chief, General Michel Suleiman, for the post.

March 14th’s latest challenge to Hizbullah appears to have been partly an attempt to drive a wedgen.  楔子, 起因, 楔形物

v.  楔入, 楔进; 楔入, 挤进

 into the two year-old alliance between Hizbullah and Aounist Christians, who resent怨恨 being excluded from power, but are not especially keen on the Shia party’s weaponry or anti-Western rhetoric花言巧语，修辞学. That strategy has not worked. Despite the defection of many Christians this alliance has held, so giving broader sectarian cover to Hizbullah. The shift now of power on the ground has not destroyed the government, but greatly raises the pressure to seek a compromise more to the opposition’s liking嗜好, before the last fig无花果，微不足道的 leaves of constitutional rule blow away.

1.       escalation if fighting, violence, or a bad situation escalates, or if someone escalates it, it becomes much worse
escalate into
　 Her fear was escalating into panic.

2.  fiendishly  

adverb
(informal) very; extremely: fiendishly clever / complicated

3. polarize, polarise ¹  

/ &s12;p&O01;ul&O01;ra&O18;z; ˋpol&O01;&s19;ra&O18;z/ v
[Tn] (physics 物) cause (light-waves, etc) to vibrate in a single direction or plane 使（光波等）偏振.
[Tn] give magnetic polarity to (a body) 使（物體）極化; 使有極性.
[I, Ipr, Tn, Tn.pr] ~ (sth/sb) (into sth) (cause people, views, etc to) form into two groups which conflict with or are completely opposite to each other （使人﹑ 觀點等）兩極分化, 相衝突, 截然相反: Public opinion has polarized on this issue. 在這個問題上公眾的意見已兩極分化. * an issue which has polarized public opinion 使輿論兩極分化的問題.
> polarization, -isation / &s19;p&O01;ul&O01;ra&O18;&s12;ze&O18;&O43;n; US -r&O18;&s12;z-;&s19;pol&O01;r&O01;ˋze&O43;&O01;n/ n [C, U] act of polarizing; state of being polarized 偏振（現象）; 極化（作用）; 兩極分化

文章虽然生词较多，可是词义比较固定，比喻说法不多，长句也不复杂，动词短语有限，还是比较好懂的，但是人名复杂，不过，完全可以不用去管。