VOA标准英语2009年-US Won't Follow British Lead on Hezbollah Dialo

Two senior U.S. diplomats¹ are due to arrive in Damascus Saturday in a visit upgrading the level of U.S.-Syrian contacts.

Officials here said the Obama administration has no intention of matching the British opening to Hezbollah, which has long been listed by the United States as a terrorist organization.

However the United States is not being publicly critical of the British move, and officials said they will be interested in the results, if any, of the British contacts.
　
Image from Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV station shows Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah during televised press conference, 29 Jan 2009

The British government said Thursday it had authorized² what were termed carefully selected contacts with Hezbollah's political wing, which is represented in the Lebanese parliament, ending a four-year freeze on contacts with the militant³ Shiite group.

The move comes as the Obama administration itself is easing policy toward contacts with regional adversaries⁴, with a U.S. delegation⁵ visiting Syria on Saturday and an assertion by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday that Iran should be invited to an international conference on Afghanistan later this month.

At a news briefing, State Department Deputy Spokesman Gordon Duguid had a mild response to the British move. He said the United States will watch how the Hezbollah dialogue proceeds but that the U.S. position towards the group - and its history of terrorist attacks against Americans - has not changed.

"Our position on Hezbollah is not going to change, until we see changes on the part of Hezbollah. This is the organization, as you will remember, that had killed more Americans than any other terrorist group before 9-11. Our stated position on Hezbollah has been consistent. Other nations will have, from time to time, positions that differ with those of the United States. We will watch in this case and see how this policy from the U.K. proceeds," he said.

Duguid said British officials advised the United States in advance of the diplomatic move, apparently⁶ during the Washington visit earlier this week of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The United States maintains relations with the Lebanese government of President Michel Suleiman but does not interact with ministries⁷ in the unity⁸ cabinet that are controlled by Hezbollah.
　
Lebanese PM Fuad Saniora (R) meets with ambassador Jeffrey Feltman in Beirut, 06 Mar⁹ 2009

A State Department official confirmed that two senior U.S. officials who were in Beirut Friday will travel to Damascus Saturday for talks with the Syrian government, which along with Iran has been a major supporter of Hezbollah.

Despite major differences with Syria, the Obama administration has sought to revive dialogue with that country. Acting¹⁰ Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and National Security Council Middle East adviser¹¹ Daniel Shapiro will be the highest-level U.S. officials to visit Damascus since 2005.

Obama administration officials said the success to the opening to Syria will depend on that country's willingness to end support for terrorism and militant factions¹² opposing Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

3 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。

4 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

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 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

10 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。

11 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。

12 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别