2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Backs Blair Mission to Mideast

By Scott Stearns
White House
07 December 2006

British Prime Minister Tony Blair will return to the Middle East in hopes of reviving talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.  VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports Prime Minister Blair and U.S. President George Bush say solving that conflict is central to peace in the broader Middle East.

 
President Bush, right, and British PM Tony Blair take part in joint¹ press availability, 7 Dec. 2006, in Washington
Prime Minister Blair believes it is possible to resolve what he calls some "very tricky² issues" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.  Doing so, he says, would send a massive symbolic³ signal.

"I believe that by moving this forward, we send a very strong signal, not just to the region, but to the whole of the world, that we are even-handed and just in the application of our values," Mr. Blair said. "That we want to see an Israel confident of its security and a Palestinian people able to live in peace and justice and democracy."

 Mr. Blair spoke⁴ following White House talks with President Bush, during which they discussed this week's report from a bipartisan panel that proposed changes to military and diplomatic operations in Iraq.

The report urged Mr. Bush to launch a new peace effort in the Middle East to give the United States what it called "renewed credibility" in the region.

The president says he supports the prime minister's upcoming mission to advance work toward a two-state solution.

"One of the reasons why there has not been instant success is because radicals⁵ and extremists are trying to stop the advance of Palestinian state. Why?  Because democracy is a defeat for them," Mr. Bush said.

 
President Bush, right, with Tony Blair during joint press availability in Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, 7 Dec 2006
President Bush says the United States and Britain are working to help Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas strengthen his security forces and form a government that accepts a two-state solution.  The Palestinian government is currently divided between Abbas supporters and opponents from the militant⁶ group Hamas. 

Prime Minister Blair says the lack of a national unity⁷ government among Palestinians is a major obstacle to resuming negotiations⁸ with Israel.

"You cannot have a government that everyone can deal with - and you can then negotiate a peace with between Israel and Palestine - unless it is on the basis that everyone accepts the others' right to exist.  That is the difficulty," he said. "It is not a kind of technical point.  It is absolutely at the heart of it."

While recognizing immensely tough challenges in the Middle East, the prime minister says there is no way to succeed unless one just keeps on trying.

Without resolving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Mr. Blair says the cycle of violence in the Middle East will remain unbroken.

"You leave a Middle East in which the Israel/Palestine issue is not solved, in which there is no moves towards democracy, in which Iraq goes back in its old state, in which the Iranian people have no chance to express themselves, maybe not in the months or one year, two years, but you will have the same problem," he said.

The prime minister says his Middle East mission is meant to explore ways to resume talks between the two sides and work around obstacles that include the release of Palestinians held by Israel and freedom for a kidnapped Israeli soldier held by Palestinians. 

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

3 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

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。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。