The pace of events in the Middle East has quickened once again. More than two years since the start of the Arab spring, the facts on the ground can still change so rapidly in the region that western governments struggle to keep pace. Last week Barack Obama had convened an emergency meeting to discuss the violent crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, only for the US president to find himself confronted with an even more dramatic challenge – a chemical weapon attack in Syria.
中东事态演变再次加速。在“阿拉伯之春”爆发两年多后,中东地区仍然风云变幻,西方政府的步伐难以跟上形势的变化。上周巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)召开了一场紧急会议,讨论埃及武力镇压穆斯林兄弟会(Muslim Brotherhood)的事情,结果美国总统发现自己面对一个更严峻的挑战——叙利亚动用了化学武器。