it can still come right

HALF a year since the Arabs began to shake off their oppressive slumber, the picture is patchy 

反抗暴政已有半年，结果残次不齐

.Kuwait’s parliament has flexed a bit of muscle

显示了一些实力

Lebanon, briefly euphoric under the banner of people-power six years ago, is torn by sectarian rivalry

六年前，黎巴嫩在人民民主的大旗下欢欣一片，但好景不长，现在已被宗派斗争撕扯的四分五裂

The Saudis bluntly oppose democracy while facing a royal succession crisis. 

沙特此刻正面临王室的继承危机，直言不讳的反对民主。

But the immediate fate of the Arab spring turns on Libya and Syria

当前，，，，，，，息息相关

A good reason to back the Libyan rebels at first was humanitarian—to forestall the savage reprisals against the people of Benghazi whom Colonel Qaddafi had sworn to hunt down as “rats” and “cockroaches”.

最初支持利比亚反对军的一个很好的理由是人道主义----预先阻止卡扎菲上校所发誓他要将xx地区人民视为“老鼠“的血腥报复----—水平太差

起初，支持利比亚反对派的不二理由是人道主义——抢在对班加西人民的野蛮报复之前先发制人，因为卡扎菲上校曾发誓像对待“老鼠”和“蟑螂”那样围捕那里的人民。

 though too fragile to embroil themselves openly in the fray, are strongly behind the rebels

尽管太弱小，不敢公开的卷入这场战争中，但是一直在默默的支持着反对派

A month or so back it seemed too much to expect Syria’s Bashar Assad to go,

一个月以前，希望xxx下台简直不可想象

. The opposition is refusing to submit

反对派拒绝投降

Plenty of reverses and confusion would ensue

相继会发生很多倒退和混乱

rather than cooped up in a conspiratorial underworld where their natural divisions are smothered and where the political tool of choice is violence.

远比把他们禁锢在阴谋的下层社会要好，在那里自然区划被掩盖，唯一的可选政治工具就是暴力

 Progress is bound to be fitful.

进步势必是断断续续的