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Truth is generally the first casualty in war.On the battlefields of the Middle East，especially when Israel is involved，reason also has a hard time of it.For neither Israel nor the Jews are seen，whether by themselves，their friends or their foes，as a nation and a people like others.

One form of irrationality，shared by some evangelical Christians and some Jews，has it that Israel is the Zion of prophecy，part of God's plan，with its borders fixed for eternity by the Almighty.A contrary irrationality denies Israel's right to exist or regards Israel as not a nation at all.

Hezbollah's leader，Hassan Nasrallah，said in April 2000 that it was merely a“cancerous body in the region.”Breaking new medical ground last Sunday，Ayatollah Ali Khamenei，Iran's Supreme Leader，said Israel was an“infectious tumour for the entire Islamic world.”

Even the lesser irrationalities on the subject of Israel disturb.It is smaller in area than Sardinia or Wales，with only half the population of Mexico City，but its potency，like that of the allegedly world-conquering Jews，is inflated to an inordinate degree.Conversely，the notion that Israel is engaged in a fight for its very existence is an equally irrational assertion.With its formidable military arsenal that can easily outgun its local foes，it is not，or not yet，in such danger.Similarly irrational is Israel's vow to destroy Hezbollah.The right arm of the advancing power of Iran，the so-called Party of God，cannot now be destroyed.

Nevertheless，unreason，whether it is Islam's or Judeo-Christianity's，has its uses.One man's tumour may be another's Promised Land，yet such beliefs serve both in their Manichean ordering of the world，a world of darkness and light，good and evil，which overrides the true complexity of things.

It is the same kind of simplistic ordering that the concept of the bourgeois and proletarian provided，once upon a time，to the Marxist；and the same kind of ordering that，for today's Islamofascist，makes Muslims and so-called infidels into two near-distinct human species.It is a distinction comparable with that made by Nazism between Aryans and the ostensibly inferior races，Jews chief among them.

In the latest outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East，as Israeli forces strike Beirut and southern Lebanon on one side and Hezbollah's missiles target Haifa and various Israeli townships on the other，calls for diplomacy and a negotiated settlement between the combatants are also less rational or practical than they may seem.

So are proposals for peacekeepers and the stationing of buffer forces in southern Lebanon and Gaza.The desire，on one hand，to see Israel extinguished and the declaration by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert，on the other，that there are“moments in the life of a nation when it is compelled to say:‘No more’”are not reconcilable.A truce can be only temporary.

Similarly，between Nasrallah's assertion in October 2002 that if the Jews“all gather in Israel it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide”and Olmert's claim that“only a nation which can protect its freedom deserves it，”there is no possibility of finding a genuine or lasting middle ground.Moreover，the parties themselves know it.They have known it for decades，Camp David，road maps and all the other initiatives notwithstanding.Despite the heat and harm of the present warfare，the battlefront in the Levant is merely one front，and a minor front at that，in the wider conflict between the Islamic and the non-Muslim worlds.Moreover，the time for serious diplomacy and dialogue between the Muslim and the Kafir has not yet Come.

Indeed，it may never Come until one or other of the forces in this war of the worlds—a war being fought，with differing degrees of intensity and in different ways，from Afghanistan to the Horn of Africa，from the Caucasus to Kashmir，and from the Levant to Southeast Asia—has finally been vanquished.The arguments for diplomacy in the Middle East are also not what they seem，since most of them stem not from the dictates of reason but from the geopolitical interests of rival powers，each in pursuit of its own ends.In the present flare-up，the US，Russia，France and Iran—but not Britain，since it has no foreign policy worth the name—all have distinct purposes in mind.For the struggle in the western Mediterranean is a war of position as well as of arms.So，too，with the conflicts in Chechnya，Iraq，Somalia and Sudan.

The combatants in each theatre of this near-global combat are fighting，by definition，for more than local causes.The US，weakened by divisions at home comparable with those during the Vietnam War and poorly led，thus finds in Israel a useful instrument for its desired imposition of a pax Americana on Syria.

Iran，a growing threat to Arab nations as well as to the non-Muslim world，is likewise benefiting politically from the belligerence of its proxy，Hezbollah and from the fears in the infidel's heart which it engenders on Iran's behalf.As for Russia and France，they have their own historic relations with Lebanon and Syria，and their own interests in thwarting US hegemony wherever they can and at whatever cost to the fortunes of ostensible allies in this vast war.

Ahove all，the weapons aimed at Israel are not merely the Katyusha，the Raad 2 and 3，the Iranian Fajr and the Zelzal.Rather，they are the weapons of the umma—the community of resurgent Islam，the church militant of the 21st century—weapons that are deployed across the globe.Or，as Hezbollah's leader put it last weekend，“Hezbollah is not fighting a battle for Hezbollah or even for Lebanon.We are now fighting a battle for the Islamic nation.”

Even allowing for the self-inflaming fever of Muslim rhetoric，with its language of blood，fire and sword，Nasrallah's assertion dwarfs all others，despite the apparent disowning of such rhetoric by moderate Muslims.

Indeed，it makes no great odds from a larger and longer perspective that Israel is bombing Beirut or that it thinks it has set its own conditions for a ceasefire.It makes no great odds，either，that the Arab League has declared the bogus peace process at an end or that the Spanish Prime Minister，speaking for tens of millions across the non-Muslim world，has repeated the tired mantra that Israel's offensive is fuelling fanaticism，as if inaction in war were the better part of valour.

Instead，the greater truth，as the confidence of Nasrallah and of other fire-breathing clerics in Islam makes clear，is that the advance of the Islamic nation has got the non-Muslim world，and above all the US，in growing trouble.Anti-Americans，who can be numbered in tens of millions in Western Europe alone，cheer the fact that US interests and purposes in the world are facing ever harder times.The forces that oppose its interests and purposes，including within the US，include liberalsandleftists，radicalIslamistsandtheirnon-Muslim sympathizers，and the massed ranks of common or garden anti-Yankees who see the US as the root of all evil.

In relation to this largest of all truths—that the US is on the ropes—particular or local conflicts in the war with Islam are merely elements in the immense crisis that faces the West as a whole.It is the present condition of the US to which the closest attention should therefore be paid.It is a condition of increasing bewilderment and internal division，often bordering on mutual hatred and reciprocated paranoia，among its political elite，its competing experts on Islam，its media and its population.

The divisions within the Republican and Democratic parties，and the bitter differences over which way the US should turn，are expressions not merely of the normal political disagreements in a democracy but of profound national disarray.

For America's leaders are unable to decide who and what they are fighting:whether it is Islam，Islamic radicalism or terror.They are equally uncertain whether the security of the nation is a higher priority than safeguarding the rights of the individual；uncertain whether the democratization of the Arab and Muslim worlds is or is not a viable undertaking；uncertain，and for good reason，whether their notional allies in Europe are or are not to be relied on；uncertain，for even better reason，whether ostensible friends in the Muslim world，such as Saudi Arabia，Pakistan and the Gulf sheikdoms，are or are not wolves in sheep's clothing.In consequence，it is the American“don't knows”，the unsure，who are the most numerous in the prevailing confusion.

The US is a nation at war but one that has lost its sense of direction and that is therefore at war with itself.In contrast，Islam's new-found sense of purpose，in its third great historical advance，increases with each new conflict that its jihadist ethic and strategy provoke.

This is so，whether such conflict is conducted with battlefield armaments or by means of ever-widening Muslim claims—legal，Cultural，political and other—on the societies in which their diasporas are found throughout the world.

In these diasporas，the strengths of Islam are variously obnoxious to the racist，the hedonist and the libertarian.But these strengths are likely to be increasingly vindicated as the moral crisis of the so-called free society deepens.Indeed，it is hardly to be expected that the US，any more than other Western liberal democracies，will Come to terms with the fact that the free market and the right to choose have not got the beating of the Koran and the Muslim ethical code.

Those who retain a faith in the force of reason may wish it otherwise.Yet just as unreason plainly marks many aspects of the creed of Islam，so it also vitiates the cause of the non-Muslim world.Among the latter's irrationalities is the myopic belief—held by the non-Muslim Israelophobe and the fire-breathing Islamist together—that Israel，the so-called Jewish lobby in the US and the actions of Jews in general stand at the heart of this third world war.This belief，akin to that of the Nazis in World WarⅡ，is of the greatest significance in one respect above all.Indeed，it could be said to be the West's Achilles'heel.For it is a belief that permits，and even invites，Islamists to play，to their own advantage，on a favourite prejudice of non-Muslims of all political persuasions.With the other moral debilities that afflict us，it makes it likelier that this war with Islam will ultimately be lost.

1.Who is“losing sight of”what“reality”?

2.“Truth is generally the first casualty in war.”Discuss the meaning of this sentence.

3.“Only a nation which can protect its freedom deserves it.”Discuss the meaning of this sentence.

4.“The US is a nation at war but one that has lost its sense of direction and that is therefore at war with itself.”What does this sentence mean?Do you agree?

Zion of prophecy:The resurgent“nation of Israel”，as foretold in Old Testament prophecies.

注意文章第二段中“Breaking new medical ground”之前的“cancerous body in the region”，与之后的“infectious tumour for the entire Islamic world”在程度上的递进，再体会“Breaking new medical ground”在此处的修辞效果。

Judeo-Christianity:Religious belief based on the Old Testament of the Bible(Judaism)and New Testament(Christianity.)The majority of religious Jews are Judaist.

Manichean ordering of the world:Characterized by a belief in religious or philosophical dualism；simplistic thinking，in which both Jews and Muslims believe they are right，and anyone opposing them is evil and wrong.

Islamofascist:Islamist+fascist，fundamentalist militarist Muslim.注意此处的造词。

Camp David，road maps:此处戴维营是指旨在推进中东和平进程的“戴维营协议”。road maps同样是指2002—2003年旨在推进中东和平进程的“中东和平路线图”方案。这种借代或提喻手段在报刊中较常见。如Beijing指中国政府，Moscow指俄国政府，Pentagon指美国国防部，Vietnam指越战等。

Mantra:Repeated prayer.A slightly derogatory word meaning a commonly repeated phrase or argument to justify a point of view.

On the ropes:In deep trouble，like an exhausted boxer toward the end of the fight.

Diaspora:Clustered groups of people living in exile in a foreign country海外散居，流散。

Israelophobe:Anyone who hates Israel or the Jewish people.构词: xenophobia，claustrophobia

巴以冲突及中东和平:　History's legacy has created divisive issues between Palestinians and Israelis.Judea，home of the Jews in ancient times，was conquered by the Romans around the time of Christ，and renamed Palestine.In 70 A.D.，the occupying Roman forces destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem，and forcibly expelled many Jews from their homeland.This marked the beginning of the Jewish diaspora.Palestine was later conquered and inhabited by Arabs for over a thousand years.

The Zionist movement arose to restore the Jews to Israel，largely ignoring the existing Arab population.Following the Balfour Declaration in 1917，Palestine was granted to Britain as a League of Nations mandate to build a national home for the Jewish people.The Arabs resented the Jews coming in to take their land.Led by Grand Mufti Hajj Amin El Husseini，they rioted repeatedly and later revolted，creating a history of enmity between Jews and Arabs in Palestine.Britain stopped Jewish immigration to Palestine.Following the Holocaust，in which 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis，pressure on Britain increased to allow Jewish immigration to Palestine.

In 1947，the UN partitioned the land into Arab and Jewish states.The Arabs did not accept the partition and war broke out.The Jews won a decisive victory，expanded their state and created several hundred thousand Palestinian refugees.The Arab states refused to recognize Israel or make peace with it.Wars broke out in 1956，1967，1973 and 1982，and there were many terror raids and Israeli reprisals.Each side believes different versions of the same history.Each side views the conflict as wholly the fault of the other and expects an apology.

Auerica is involved，but is consistently seen to favour the Israelis over the Palestinians in their foreign policy.Largely this is attributed to a very strong and wealthy Jewish political lobby in New York，and Jewish influence over the American media.The Americans，however，have tried to mediate in the conflict，inviting successive Israeli and Arab leaders to summits at Camp David，the US President's“holiday house.”

In 2003 a so-called“Road-Map”to peace was devised to lead to a“final and comprehensive settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict by 2005”under the auspices of the Quartet(the United States，European Union，United Nations，and Russia).

政治概念上的中东问题系指阿拉伯国家(包括巴勒斯坦)与以色列之间的冲突问题，也称阿以冲突。中东问题是列强争夺的历史产物，也是世界上持续时间最长的地区热点问题，至今已达半个多世纪。中东问题的核心是巴勒斯坦问题。

巴勒斯坦古称迦南，包括现在的以色列、加沙、约旦河西岸和约旦。巴勒斯坦最早的居民是迦南人。约四千年前，希伯来人、腓力斯人先后从幼发拉底—底格里斯两河流域和爱琴海沿岸迁至巴勒斯坦。希伯来人不断与迦南人和腓力斯人作战，于公元前1020年建立了第一个希伯来人的王国。从公元前8世纪至公元20世纪初，巴勒斯坦一直处于大国侵略、占领和争夺之中。公元前586年，新巴比伦王国将大批犹太人掳到巴比伦。公元前538年，波斯帝国允许被掳的部分犹太人返巴比伦。犹太人在耶路撒冷重建圣殿。公元135年，犹太人被罗马帝国彻底赶出巴比伦，流散到世界各地。公元637年，巴比伦成为阿拉伯帝国的一部分，阿拉伯人不断移入，形成现代巴勒斯坦阿拉伯人。

在19世纪末，生活在欧洲的犹太知识分子发动犹太复国主义运动，英国扶植利用犹太复国主义运动，以控制巴勒斯坦地区。1947年11月29日，联合国大会以33票同意、13票反对、10票弃权通过了分治巴勒斯坦的181号决议。该决议规定:在巴勒斯坦地区成立两个独立国家，将巴勒斯坦2.7万平方公里土地中的1.52万平方公里划归以色列国。巴勒斯坦国的面积为1.15万平方公里。因耶路撒冷是犹太教、基督教和伊斯兰教三大宗教的圣地，耶城国际化，由联合国托管，面积为158平方公里。以色列国于1948年5月14日建立，成为世界上唯一一个根据联合国决议建立的国家。由于阿拉伯人、巴勒斯坦人反对这一决议，巴勒斯坦国一直未建立。

多年来，阿拉伯国家要求以色列遵照联合国决议，在被占领土上停止兴建犹太移民定居点，撤出1967年其占领的领土，以“土地换和平”。以色列却认为，西奈半岛归还埃及后，它已完成履行联合国决议的要求，现在只需要以“和平换和平”。

Promised Land:上帝应许之地The land that God promised he would give to the descendants of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob；the land flowing with milk and honey；the land of Canaan(迦南)，or Palestine.The Israelites did not take it over until after the Exodus，when they conquered the people already living there.By extension，an idyllic place or state of being that a person hopes to reach，especially one that cannot be reached except by patience and determination，is called a“Promised Land.”

Pax Americana:(Latin for American Peace)After Pax Romana of the Roman empire and Pax Britannica of the British empire，describes a period of relative peace in the Western world since the end of World WarⅡin 1945，coinciding with the dominant military and economic position of the United States.面对中国的复兴，现在也有人用Pax Sinica描述当今世界格局的演变。虽然这些词语中都带有“和平”(Pax)但其潜台词都有hegemony，而此词在国际事务中让人喜忧参半、褒贬不一。总之，Pax so-and-so折射出由某一国家(罗马帝国?大英帝国?美国?)占主导地位的世界(新)秩序。

http://www.spectator.co.uk/print/the-magazine/cartoons/26132/learningfrom-islams-advance.thtml

http://www.spectator.co.uk/print/the-magazine/features/28998/nomore-pax-americana.thtml A Tale of Two Wars:War of Necessity，War of Choice http://www.foreignaffairs.com/print/64957

●新闻英语具有强大的造词能力。如本文中的“Islamofascist”和“Israelophobe”就是“Islamist+fascist“以及”Israel+phobe“而成。这种拼缀构词读上去既鲜活又节约空间，在新闻英语中十分常见，又如sitcom(situation+Comedy)，malware(malicious software)，guestimate(guess+estimate)等。

●Parody是报刊中常用的修辞笔法。本文第四段中“One man's tumour may be another's Promised Land”一句显然是仿造“One man's meat is another man's poison“以及”One man's trash is another man's treasure”等谚语而成。“tumour”回指前面提到的伊斯兰心目中的以色列，而Promised Land(上帝应许之地)也是回指基督教世界以及犹太人心中的以色列。这种修辞会唤起并刷新读者已有的知识体系与记忆，产生新的联想，起到戏谑或反讽效果。而更精彩的是本文中间部分出现的“Inaction in war were the better part of valour”一句。该句源于莎士比亚《亨利四世》中的“Discretion is the better part of valour”(小心为大勇)。这里本文作者调侃道:似乎以色列在纷争中坐以待毙才算是大志大勇呢。如此揶揄之言自然表明作者对此处西班牙总理指责以色列挑起阿拉伯世界激进行为的观点是持异议的。人们读到此句，再联想莎翁的那句为怯懦找借口的名言，不禁哑然失笑。这便是散见于报刊标题及正文中parody的强大魅力之处。

●报刊的借指。我们在前面文章中已经见过以“Vietnam”代“Vietnam War”，本文又以“Camp David”代“Camp David Accord”，这种以一事物指代另一相关事物或局部与全体相互间的指代在新闻文体中俯拾皆是。如the Kremlin指俄罗斯政府，Hollywood指美国电影、娱乐业，Downing Street指英国政府，Westminster指英国议会，Madison Avenue指美国广告业，Capitol Hill指美国国会等。

Ⅰ.According to the article，determine which statements are true and which are false.

1.There exist irrationalities on both sides of the Middle East conflict.

2.All Muslims believe they are engaged in a“holy war”(Jihad) against Israel and US interests worldwide.

3.Hezbollah calls itself the“Party of God.”

4.The author is somewhat sympathetic toward the Spanish Prime Minister.

5.The author agrees that Israel's borders have been determined by the Almighty.

1.The phrase“breaking new medical ground”in the passage______.

A.lacks scientific evidence

B.is tongue-in-cheek or sarcastic

C.Khamenei described Israel as an“infectious tumour”and was referring to the Zionist movement

D.Israel is suffering from a cancerous tumour

2.Israel is_________.

A.smaller in size than Wales.

B.about one third the size of Mexico City.

C.both A and B.

D.neither A nor B.

3.The author's primary assertion is that_______.

A.Israel believes in the Zionist supremacy.

B.the time for dialogue between Muslims and Judaeo-Christians has not yet Come.

C.the US believes in the Zionist supremacy.

D.Hezbollah is the“right arm”of the advancing power of Iran，which is seen as a threat by the US，Israel and Arab countries alike.

4.According to the author，Hezbollah is the“proxy”(i.e.actingon behalf)of_________.

A.Iraq.

B.Israel.

C.Lebanon.

D.Iran.

5.The US is on the ropesmeans__________.

A.the US is in trouble and the nation is divided and poorly led.

B.the US is trying but failing to force a Pax Americana on Syria using Israeli forces.

C.US armies are using ropes to try to restrain Hezbollah guerillas.

D.none of the above.