2007年VOA标准英语-Rice Heads to Middle East for Talks on Iraq, Is

By David Gollust
State Department
12 January 2007

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice leaves for the Middle East later Friday for follow-up discussions on President Bush's new Iraq Strategy. She'll urge moderate Arab states to step up support for the Iraqi government and explore prospects¹ for renewed Israel-Palestinian peace efforts. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

 
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testifies before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 11 January, 2007
Despite the difficulties in Iraq, Rice says she does not see the Middle East picture as entirely² bleak³, and that a political "realignment" may be under way in the region of moderate governments alarmed by the extremism of al-Qaida and Iran.

The secretary is to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders on the first leg of the weeklong trip, then visit Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for talks focusing on Iraq and the need for moderate Arab states to support the coalition⁴ government in Baghdad.  She completes the trip with consultations⁵ in Berlin and London.

In congressional testimony⁶ Thursday on the eve of her trip, Rice said the three-week war with Israel initiated⁷ by Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia⁸ was a formative experience for traditional U.S. Arab allies:

"I think the reason the realignment is taking place is that there is growing concern about Iran's assertiveness," she said.  "And the war in Lebanon this summer really crystallized for the states of the region that Iran's influence through Hezbollah and indeed Iran's increasing efforts to insert itself into the Palestinian-Israeli issue is a real problem for the governments in this region."

Rice is due to meet next week in Kuwait with foreign ministers of the six Gulf⁹ Cooperation Council (GCC) countries along with those of Egypt and Jordan, the so-called GCC-Plus Two grouping.

She said she will urge them to rally around the Iraqi government with, among other things debt relief, training of security forces and higher levels of diplomatic representation in Baghdad.

The bipartisan Baker-Hamilton commission last month urged a new U.S. push on the Israeli-Palestinian front to help bring peace to Iraq.

But the secretary told the House International Relations Committee the Israeli-Palestinian conflict needs to be resolved "on its own terms," and that is hard to imagine a truly different kind of Middle East without a settlement.

The Bush administration is trying to bolster¹⁰ Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in his confrontation¹¹ with the militant¹² Islamic Hamas movement, whose refusal to accept international terms for peace talks has stalled the process for a year.

In a talk with reporters Friday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack confirmed the Bush administration has asked Congress to approve an $86 million aid package for Palestinian security forces controlled by Mr. Abbas.

 
Mahmoud Abbas speaks to the media after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Cairo, 27 Dec 2006
He said the aid would include training, uniforms, communications gear and other forms of non-lethal aid and would not fuel an arms race between forces loyal to Mr. Abbas and those of Hamas.

"We think that we are building up those responsible forces that will help provide security for the Palestinian people that are committed to provide secure entry and exit points," he noted¹³.  "These are forces that will also be committed to fighting terror, and to preventing terrorist attacks. They report to President Abbas who we believe is a partner for peace."

The aid plan has drawn¹⁴ expressions of concern from some members of Congress and Middle East analysts¹⁵, among them former U.S. regional envoy¹⁶ Dennis Ross, who says it reflects a sense in the Bush administration that the only way to change things is through confrontation.

State Department officials have cautioned in advance that no breakthroughs or agreements can be expected from Rice's talks in Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank where she will meet Mr. Abbas.

They have denied press reports that the secretary might propose truncating¹⁷ the 2003 international road map to Middle East peace in order to move to early negotiations¹⁸ on final-status issues, such as the status of Jerusalem and borders for a Palestinian state.

1 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

2 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

3 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 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。

7 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

8 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

10 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

11 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。

12 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

13 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。

14 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

16 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

17 truncating   

v.截面的( truncate的现在分词 )；截头的；缩短了的；截去顶端或末端

参考例句：

• The process of truncating is called rounding down. 这个截断的过程叫做往下舍入。 来自辞典例句
• Truncating the transaction log will remove inactive entries from the transaction log. 截断事务日志将删除事务日志中不活动的条目。 来自互联网

18 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。