VOA常速英语2007-Former US Policy Makers Urge Dialogue With Hamas

By David Gollust
Washington
10 October 2007

A bipartisan group of former U.S. policy makers¹ urged the Bush administration Wednesday to provide for dialogue with the militant² Palestinian group Hamas as part of diplomacy³ leading to the U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference in November. In a letter to President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the eight political figures said the meeting should focus on the end game of an Israeli-Palestinian settlement. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

The former officials warn of severe consequences if the conference fails, and they say the gathering⁴ should at the very least produce agreement on the contours of a permanent peace accord that should, in turn, be enshrined in a U.N. Security Council resolution.

The eight senior figures, including former House International Relations Committee Chairman Lee Hamilton and former Carter administration national security adviser⁵ Zbigniew Brzezinski, issued the letter on the eve of Secretary of State Rice's departure on a critical trip to the Middle East.

The Bush administration has avoided specifics on what the conference should produce. But the bipartisan group called for a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza based on 1967 lines with only minor⁶ and reciprocal changes, divided sovereignty with the capitals of both states in Jerusalem, and resettlement of Palestinian refugees only in the new Palestinian state, ruling out a right of return to Israel.

In a telephone conference call, Brzezinski said the plan necessarily calls for painful tradeoffs by both parties.

"No right of return. That is a very difficult pill, a painful pill for many Palestinians to swallow. And yet we recognize that it is an absolute necessity. Secondly⁷, some genuine sharing of Jerusalem. That's a difficult concession⁸ for many Israelis to make. Yet we know there will be no peace, and no peace recognized as legitimate⁹ for the Palestinians, if there is no sharing. Mutual¹⁰ accommodation based on the '67 lines - not easy but absolutely necessary so that the peace is not a peace of conquest or dictation but again, of a reasonable compromise."

The panel members said the conference should be inclusive and they commended the Bush administration for its decision to invite Syria among other Arab states. They did not specifically call for Hamas to be invited, but did say a genuine dialogue should be opened with the Islamic militant group, perhaps conducted by envoys¹¹ of the United Nations or the international Middle East Quartet.

Former Congressman¹² Hamilton said excluding Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, would only encourage the group to play a spoiler's role.

"I don't think splintering or dividing the Palestinians is going to help solve the problem. And you've always got to think when you're negotiating an agreement about the implementation¹³ of the agreement, that if you isolate¹⁴, as the statement says, the Palestinian Hamas group, you exclude them from process and they'll have every reason to try to disrupt the agreement that is reached," he said.

Rice leaves Friday on a mission that will first take her to Moscow for two days of security talks, and then to the Middle East where she is expected to spend at least five days talking to Israeli and Palestinian leaders to prepare for the conference.

The Secretary has not offer any U.S. proposals, saying her aim is to advance work already underway between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on a statement of principles for the conference.

State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack was non-committal on the letter to Rice, other than to say that useful ideas will be considered.

"We don't necessarily have a corner on good ideas. If there are good ideas out there that we can feed into the process, absolutely we'll take them into account. But our focus is going to be working with both of the parties to try to help them memorialize and come to a variety of different understandings and move the process as far as they possibly can in time for this meeting, and to use the meeting as a mechanism¹⁵ to again try and take the process to another level," he said.

The Bush administration has opposed any dealings with Hamas, which the United States lists as a terrorist organization as long as it refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist or renounce¹⁶ violence.

1 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 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。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

6 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

7 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

8 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

9 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

10 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

11 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

12 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

13 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

14 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

15 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

16 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。