2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Says Rice Headed Back to Middle East

By Scott Stearns
Washington
28 July 2006
 
President Bush says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is returning to the Middle East with plans for a United Nations force to separate Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants² fighting in southern Lebanon.  Mr. Bush discussed the conflict Friday in Washington with visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

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George Bush, Tony Blair at White House press conference, July 28, 2006
  
President Bush says Secretary Rice is returning to the region in hopes of seizing what he calls an opportunity for lasting³ peace and stability for Israel and Lebanon.

At a joint⁴ news conference following their talks, Prime Minister Blair expressed his support for Mr. Bush's announcement, saying Rice's trip will help lay the groundwork for a meeting Monday at the United Nations to discuss a possible U.N. stabilization⁵ force for southern Lebanon.

"She will have with her the package of proposals, in order to get agreement, both from the government of Israel and the government of Lebanon on what is necessary to happen, in order for this crisis to stop," said Mr. Blair.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
   
  
Both leaders are under increasing pressure from Arab and some European allies to back calls for an immediate⁶ ceasefire between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants.

President Bush says the Middle East is littered with agreements that just did not work. For the sake of long-term stability, he says, it is time to deal with the underlying⁷ causes of the violence.

"Listen, the temptation is to say, 'It's too tough. Let's just try to solve it quickly with something that won't last. Let's just get it off the TV screens.' But that won't solve the problem and it is certainly not going to help the Lebanese citizens," said Mr. Bush.

Mr. Bush says Hezbollah and its Iranian and Syrian sponsors are using violence to stop the spread of peace and democracy in the region. That, the president says, is not going to succeed.

"Our goal is to achieve a lasting peace, which requires that a free, democratic, and independent Lebanese government be empowered to exercise full authority of its own territory. We want a Lebanon free of militias⁸ and foreign interference," added Mr. Bush.

Prime Minister Blair says one of the goals of a U.N. force would be to help Lebanon's army take charge of southern areas that have remained under the control of Hezbollah. The militant¹ group used those areas to launch cross-border raids, which sparked this latest round of violence, and to fire rockets into Israel.

Prime Minister Blair says the stakes in this fight are higher than just the future of Lebanese democracy.  He says it is a fight against a terrorist strategy to provoke a reaction from Israel, and then mobilize extreme elements to create a situation that draws even moderates to their cause.

"We really will never understand how we deal with this situation, unless we understand that there is a big picture out in the Middle East, which is about reactionary⁹ and terrorist groups trying to stop what the vast majority of people in the Middle East want, which is progress toward democracy, liberty, human rights, the same as the rest of us," added Mr. Blair.

Prime Minister Blair warned Iran and Syria that they risk increasing confrontation¹⁰, if they do not stop backing Hezbollah. It is a choice that he says Damascus and Tehran cannot avoid.

1 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。

2 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。

3 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

4 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。

5 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

8 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

9 reactionary   

n.反动者，反动主义者；adj.反动的，反动主义的，反对改革的

参考例句：

• They forced thousands of peasants into their reactionary armies.他们迫使成千上万的农民参加他们的反动军队。
• The reactionary ruling clique was torn by internal strife.反动统治集团内部勾心斗角，四分五裂。

10 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。