2006年VOA标准英语-US Accuses Iran, Syria of Complicity in Mideast

By Michael Bowman
Washington
16 July 2006

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Iran and Syria are fomenting¹ conflict in the Middle East by supporting Hezbollah and other militant² groups.

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Condoleezza Rice (r) and George Bush at the G-8 summit
  
Secretary Rice says Iran and Syria are backing terrorists and militants³ against Israel, as part of a larger campaign against the spread of democracy in the region. Rice spoke⁴ on CBS's Face the Nation program from the Group of Eight Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.

"I absolutely see that Syria and Iran are playing a part in this," said Condoleezza Rice. "They are not even trying to hide their hand. Syria has held press conferences for Hezbollah. And Iran is the major financier of these [terrorist] efforts. Iran and Syria, like these extremist elements - Hezbollah and Hamas, do not have a future in the different kind of Middle East that the president [Bush] and his allies are building."

Another administration official, White House Counselor⁵ Dan Bartlett, speaking on CNN's Late Edition program, predicted that efforts by Iran and Syria to destabilize the region will backfire.

"What we are seeing now, in an unfortunate circumstance like this, [is] a clarification, a drawing of the lines between those forces that are for peace and stability, and those that are not," said Dan Bartlett. "And what you are going to see is further isolation⁶ of the governments of Syria and Iran, and more people joining the moderate forces. And that is a hopeful sign, as we move forward."

But some argue that Iran has been emboldened⁷ by the inability of U.S.-led forces to quell⁸ violence in Iraq. Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright spoke on ABC's This Week program.

"There is no question in my mind that Iraq has diverted everybody's attention," said Madeline Albright. "We are overstretched, in terms of our troops, who are doing a terrific job. I do think that Iraq is turning out to be a huge disaster, with many unintended consequences, one of which is the fact that Iran has gained more and more influence, and is in a position to be helpful to Hezbollah that it was not before [the war in Iraq]."

But Secretary of State Rice dismisses any notion that Iran sees the United States as weak or overburdened.

"It is going to be a different kind of Middle East, a Middle East, by the way, in which there is no room for the kind of extremism that Syria and Iran represent," she said. "That is why they are striking out [fomenting conflict]. It is not a matter of [U.S.] weakness. It is because they think we are going to succeed, and they are determined⁹ to stop it. We are determined that they will not."

In the past, Hezbollah leaders have acknowledged support from Tehran.

1 fomenting   

v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They accused him of fomenting political unrest. 他们指控他煽动政治动乱。
• Three sailors were fomenting a mutiny on the ship. 三个水手正在船上煽动叛变。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 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。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

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 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

6 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。

7 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。