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　　U.S. Secretary of Defense¹ Robert Gates faced tough questions from lawmakers Tuesday about the Bush administration's refusal to hold talks with Iran unless Tehran first halts its uranium enrichment program. Gates told a Senate panel that it is an open question whether such talks would succeed while President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is in power.
星期二，在美国国会的一个听证会上，议员们就布什政府在伊朗终止铀浓缩项目之前拒绝同伊朗谈判的立场，向国防部长盖茨提出了尖锐的质问。盖茨对参议院拨款委员会表示，很难说在伊朗总统艾哈迈迪内贾德任职期间，这种谈判是否会成功。
At a Senate Appropriations² Committee hearing on next year's Pentagon budget request, two lawmakers suggested the time has come for the United States to open wide-ranging talks with Iran - without preconditions.
在参议院拨款委员会就国防部明年的财政预算举行的听证会上，两位参议员表示，现在是美国不设先决条件地同伊朗就一系列广泛的议题展开谈判的时候了。
Their comments come in the wake of a report in the Jerusalem Post saying a U.S. military strike against Iran is likely before the end of President Bush's term in office next January. The administration strongly denies the report. Statements from the White House and State Department say the U.S. is focused on a diplomatic resolution of Iran's nuclear issue, but that all options remain on the table.
此前，耶路撒冷邮报报导说，在布什总统明年1月卸任之前，美军有可能会对伊朗展开攻势。布什政府对此坚决予以否认。白宫和国务院都发表声明说，在伊朗核项目问题上，美国的着眼点是通过外交渠道解决问题，但不排除一切可能。
The news report was not mentioned at the Senate hearing.
星期二的听证会上没有提及耶路撒冷邮报的那篇报导。
Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a member of President Bush's Republican Party, suggested that holding direct talks with Iran was the best option for the United States. "I think there is an opportunity for dialogue. But I think we have to be a little courageous³ about it, and take a chance, because the alternative is very, very, very bleak," he said.
和布什总统同属共和党的宾夕法尼亚州参议员阿伦.斯佩克特(Arlen Specter)表示，同伊朗展开直接对话，对美国来说，是最佳的选择。他说：“我认为有对话的机会。但是我们可能要大胆一些，试一试，因为其它的解决方式成功的可能性非常非常渺茫。”
He questioned the administration's insistence⁴ on having Iran halt its uranium enrichment program before opening talks. "It seems to me that it is unrealistic to try to have discussions and say to the opposite party as a precondition to discussions we want the principle concession⁵ that we are after. Do you think it makes sense to insist on a concession like stopping enriching uranium, which is what our ultimate objective is before we even sit down with them on a broader range of issues?," he said.
布什政府坚持把伊朗首先终止铀浓缩项目作为谈判的前提。对此，斯佩克特参议员提出了置疑。他说：“在我看来，在跟对方进行谈判之前，先把我们想要得到的主要妥协作为先决条件提出来，恐怕不现实。在双方坐下来、就更广泛的议题展开谈判之前，先坚持要对方做出终止铀浓缩项目这类的让步，你认为这现实吗？”
Gates responded by defending the administration's policy of using leverage⁶ with Iran. "The key here is developing leverage, either through economic, or diplomatic, or military pressures on the Iranian government so they believe they must have talks with the United States because there is something they want from us, and that is the relief of the pressure," he said.
盖茨回答说，白宫眼下的政策是要让伊朗觉得有必要同美国谈判。他说：“关键是，要通过经济、外交或者是军事上施加压力的方式，让伊朗政府觉得，要想没有这些压力的话，就必须同美国谈判。”
Gates said it was an open question whether talks with Tehran would yield success, saying that under President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, Iran has experienced a resurgence⁷ of the hardline views of the Islamic revolutionaries.
盖茨说，很难预测，同伊朗谈判是否会取得成果，他说，在艾哈迈迪内贾德领导下的伊朗，主张伊斯兰革命的强硬派势力抬头。
Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat⁸, suggested the United States engage with Supreme⁹ Leader Ali Khamenei. "It is not the president of Iran that counts in these matters, it is the Supreme Leader. It seems to me that we ought to find ways to develop back channel or front channel discussions with this individual. I really think the fate of the area depends on it. I think saber-rattling and talking about exercises for military intrusions do nothing but escalate¹⁰ the situation," she said.
来自加州的民主党参议员黛安.范斯坦(Diane Feinstein)表示，美国或许可以同伊朗的最高领袖哈梅内伊进行接触。她说：“在这些问题上，在伊朗，不是总统说了算，而是他们的最高领袖说了算。在我看来，我们应当通过各种渠道，来跟这位最高领导人沟通。我坚信，这关系到整个中东地区的未来。我认为，军事恐吓或者有关军事入侵的讨论只能让局势更加恶化。”
President Bush earlier this month told the Israeli Knesset that negotiations¹¹ with terrorists and radicals¹² amounted to appeasement¹³. That comment prompted an angry response from Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who also has advocated greater engagement with Iran.
布什总统这个月早些时候对以色列议会表示，同恐怖分子和极端分子对话等于是实行绥靖政策。布什的话引起了民主党总统参选人巴拉克.奥巴马的不满。奥巴马一直主张更多地与伊朗方面接触。
Gates said there may have been a missed opportunity in 2003 and 2004 in the immediate¹⁴ aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq when the more moderate Mohammed Khatami was Iran's president.
国防部长盖茨表示，美国可能错过了同伊朗谈判的良机，他指的是2003年和2004年刚刚入侵伊拉克之后，那时候，担任伊朗总统的是较为温和的穆罕默德.哈塔米。