2006年VOA标准英语-US Launches Democracy Building Program in

By Cathryn Curtis
Washington, DC
06 April 2006
 
watch US Iran Policy report
 
  
  
There have been no formal diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Iran for decades, and not much interaction among the people of the two countries. But as VOA's Cathryn Curtis reports, the Bush administration is reaching out to Iranians in a new but controversial way. 

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The war of words escalates¹ between the U.S. and Iran:

"We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” declared Vice² President Dick Cheney recently.

"If the United States wishes to choose that path, let the ball roll," replied Javad Vaeidi, Deputy Secretary of Iran’s Supreme³ National Council.
 
 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testifies on Capitol Hill
  
Amid the rising bilateral⁴ tensions, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently explained to the U.S. Congress what the Bush administration is doing to reach out to the Iranian people.

"We have also proposed that we would be able to support non-governmental organizations that can function in Iran, and in many ways, most importantly, to improve and increase our educational and cultural outreach to the people of Iran," said the secretary.

It is part of what the Bush administration calls "democracy building". The State Department is asking for 15 million additional dollars to support Iranian civic⁵ groups and non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, this year.

The news has been welcomed by many who work for American NGOs.
 

Zahir Janmohamed   
  
"It's positive because it is important to engage Iran," says Zahir Janmohamed, who directs the human rights programs in the Middle East for Amnesty International. He warns that Iran is a particularly tricky⁶ place for American groups to work.

"In Iran there's already a climate in which people who are expressing dissent⁷ or expressing opinions other than the government’s, the Iranian government line, are already vulnerable groups."

He says the American money filtering into Iran could put Iranian lives at risk.

"What I'm concerned about is U.S. government money creating a climate of suspicion in which, you know, the government has been known to execute people for what they deem as betrayal, what they deem as conspiring⁸ with outside sources," he told us.

John Calabrese  
  
"If the United States is seen as supporting particular individuals or particular groups, especially at this time, that could place these individuals and these organizations and these individuals further at risk," adds John Calabrese, with the Middle East Institute, a research group based in Washington, D.C. He believes more U.S. contact with Iranians is generally a good idea.

"It's healthy and it's essential for there to be multiple, sustained channels of cultural interaction. Those bridges are indispensable. If they don't bear fruit now, they will bear fruit later."

For the U.S. government, the bridges are intended to bypass the Iranian government, which it is seeking to isolate⁹.

"There is nothing more important that we not isolate the Iranian people, and these programs are, in many ways, critical to not isolating¹⁰ the Iranian people," said Secretary Rice.

The State Department is already accepting applications from NGOs and individuals interested in obtaining U.S. funds to work with the Iranian people.

That could include factions¹² from the Iranian exile community, which is deeply divided.

Calabrese worries that if Iranians think the program is being driven by one faction¹¹, they could be reluctant to accept U.S. help, and Iran's government could benefit.

"Not only will they be more cautious than they otherwise would, with good reason, but that will be seized and exploited by the regime and its supporters to taint¹³ everything that we do."

The democracy-building program is just one part of a larger effort by the U.S. to communicate with Iranians. The State Department is also creating a new bureau for Iran in its Washington headquarters, and plans to increase television broadcasts to the region as well.

1 escalates   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的第三人称单数 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• As the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. 面临的挑战越大，越需要团队协同合作。 来自互联网
• I cannot understand why a minor disagreement escalates into a fist-fight. 我真不明白为什么一点意见不合就变成了拳头相见。 来自互联网

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

5 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

6 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。

7 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

8 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

9 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。

10 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

11 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

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

13 taint   

n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染

参考例句：

• Everything possible should be done to free them from the economic taint.应尽可能把他们从经济的腐蚀中解脱出来。
• Moral taint has spread among young people.道德的败坏在年轻人之间蔓延。