VOA常速英语2007年-US, Iranian Officials to Discuss Iraq Security

By David Gollust
State Department
10 December 2007

The State Department says U.S. and Iranian officials will meet next week in Baghdad to discuss Iraq security issues. U.S. officials say attacks in Iraq thought to be Iranian-supported have declined in recent weeks. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Officials here say U.S. and Iranian experts will convene¹ in Baghdad December 18 for a meeting aimed at laying groundwork for a fourth ambassadorial-level session in a U.S.-Iranian dialogue on Iraq that began last May.

The discussions in Baghdad, which are limited to Iraqi security issues, are the first regular talks between the two governments since diplomatic ties were broken after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Kazemi Qomi agreed last July to set up a committee to advance the security dialogue and the meeting next week at the expert level will be under that format³.

Senior diplomat² Marcie Ries will be the U.S. representative. There was no immediate⁴ word on the Iranian delegation⁵.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who announced the committee meeting in Baghdad said he was confident of another ambassadorial meeting soon, saying there are positive signals on that from both Washington and Tehran.

Previous sessions have been inconclusive, with Iran rejecting U.S. charges that it has supported Iraqi insurgent⁶ groups and provided them with armor-piercing weapons used in lethal⁷ attacks on American troops.

U.S. officials say attacks involving the advanced explosives have declined of late amid a general drop-off in insurgent activity.

In a talk with reporters Monday, acting⁸ State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said U.S. officials hope Iran is prepared to contribute to lasting⁹ stability in Iraq.

"While we have seen a reduction over the short term, I think that what we are looking for is a reduction over the long-term, and a more cooperative stance overall towards what is happening in Iraq," he said. "And so obviously that is why we are open to this kind of discussion. We are hoping to see more traction¹⁰ and these discussions take place, and we will continue as long as we see productive movement."

Though the Baghdad channel is limited to Iraq issues, the Bush administration has said it is ready for an open-ended political dialogue with Iran, provided it halts uranium enrichment and returns to negotiations¹¹ over its nuclear program.

That policy remains¹² in place despite the report by U.S. intelligence services concluding that Iran stopped work on a secret nuclear weapons program four years ago.

President Bush said last week Iran has a strategic choice to make - to fully¹³ disclose its nuclear activities and accept the offer of dialogue, or continue on a path of isolation¹⁴.

1 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

6 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

7 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

10 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

11 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。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

14 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。