2007年VOA标准英语-Rice Opposes Outreach to Iran, Syria Over Iraq

By David Gollust
State Department
11 January 2007

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Thursday resisted calls for U.S. outreach to Iran and Syria over what the Bush administration sees as efforts by those countries to destabilize Iraq. In Senate testimony², Rice said the United States is not prepared to pay a diplomatic price for such contacts. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

 
Condoleezza Rice testifies before US Senate Foreign Relations Committee  on Capitol Hill, 11 Jan 2007 
Rice is insisting that if Iran and Syria really wanted to help stabilize¹ Iraq, they would do so on their own.

She told senators that if the United States was to seek dialogue just for the sake of talking, it would do so as a supplicant³, and face demands to compromise over Iran's nuclear program or Syria's role in Lebanon.

U.S. outreach to Tehran and Damascus was a major recommendation of the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton Iraq study commission, and was also endorsed⁴ by senators of both parties in the secretary of state's Foreign Relations Committee testimony.

Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sounded conciliatory about Iraq during a visit he and Senate colleague John Kerry made to Damascus last month, and that it is worthwhile to explore areas of common ground.

"None of us are suggesting at this table that we engage Iran or Syria as if they were an ally or friend and we're not talking about conferences where we give them a status that they don't deserve," Dodd said. "But it's awfully⁵ difficult to understand, Madame Secretary, why we would not try to engage very directly here with people here who can play a critical role in providing some stability."

Rice said past U.S. efforts to engage Syria had gotten nowhere and that there is no indication a new approach would turn out differently.

She repeated an offer to meet her Iranian counterpart any time, anywhere, if Iran met international demands to end uranium enrichment.

But she said engaging Tehran and Damascus under pressure over Iraq would require trade-offs that the Bush administration is not prepared to make.

"I think we need to recognize that if Iran and Syria wish to play a stabilizing⁶ role for their own interests, then they will do so," she said. "If on the other hand they intend to offer a stabilizing role because they believe that in our current situation in Iraq, we are willing to pay a price, that's not diplomacy⁷, that's extortion."

Rice said she would expect Iran, under those circumstances, to seek relief from international pressure over its nuclear program, while Syria would want to stop the investigation⁸ of the assassination⁹ of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rakik Hariri, in which Syrian officials have been implicated¹⁰.

President Bush leveled heavy criticism at Iran and Syria in his Iraq policy address late Wednesday, saying they are allowing terrorists and insurgents¹¹ to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq.

He also accused Iran of providing material help for attacks on American troops and said the United States would disrupt the flow of support from both Iran and Syria.

 
Sen. Joseph Biden questions Condoleezza Rice during Iraq hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, 11 Jan 2007 
But under questioning from Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden, Rice appeared to rule out U.S. military action inside those two countries to stop the alleged¹² interference of Iranian-affiliated networks.

"What is really being contemplated¹³ here in terms of these networks is that we believe we can do what we need to do inside Iraq," she said. "Obviously, the president isn't going to rule anything out to protect our troops. But the plan is to take down these networks in Iraq."

 
Gen. Peter Pace testifies before House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, 11 Jan 2007
Military Joint¹⁴ Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Peter Pace made a similar statement earlier Thursday, but at the Senate hearing Republican Senator Chuck Hagel said he was dubious¹⁵ about such assurances.

The Nebraska senator, a Vietnam veteran, noted¹⁶ that the Nixon administration lied to try to conceal¹⁷ 1970 U.S. military forays into Cambodia aimed at halting supplies to communist forces in the former South Vietnam.

Chairman Biden said congressional action in 2002 authorizing¹⁸ the invasion of Iraq does not provide for cross-border military action against Iran or Syria, and said any Bush administration attempt to construe¹⁹ it as such would generate a Constitutional confrontation²⁰.

1 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

2 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 supplicant   

adj.恳求的n.恳求者

参考例句：

• Her rendering of it fell somewhere between that of teacher and supplicant. 她表达这首诗的方式是介乎教学和祈求之间。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦
• He flung himself down in the flat submissive posture of a mere supplicant. 他以一个卑微的哀求者绝对谦恭的姿态猛地趴在地上。 来自辞典例句

4 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

6 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

7 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

10 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

12 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

13 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

14 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

15 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

17 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

18 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

19 construe   

v.翻译，解释

参考例句：

• He had tried to construe a passage from Homer.他曾尝试注释荷马著作的一段文字。
• You can construe what he said in a number of different ways.他的话可以有好几种解释。

20 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。