VOA常速英语2008年-VP Cheney to Visit Ankara as US-Turkish Relatio

By Dorian Jones
Istanbul
23 March 2008

U.S. Vice¹ President Dick Cheney's visit to Turkey on Monday comes at a time when relations between the two countries are generally good. As Dorian Jones reports for VOA from Istanbul, Ankara is likely to cooperate with Washington on many of the difficult diplomatic issues confronting the two countries.

 

Last month Turkish forces entered Iraq, for a week-long operation against the Kurdish insurgents², the PKK. American officials have supported the right of Turkey, a crucial NATO ally, to defeat the PKK, which the United States classifies as a terrorist organization. The United States has also been providing intelligence to the Turks about the insurgents.

Turkish political commentator³ Mehmet Ali Birand says U.S. support in the fight against the PKK has helped to improve U.S. relations with Turkey.

 

"Our relations are full of ups and downs and the public opinion changes its minds very quickly. When Washington was against Turkey moving into Northern Iraq they were furious, but once they got the green light to move there then everything has changed. Now I think we are passing a golden period. From that angle Vice President is very important," said Birand.

Political analysts⁵ here say Cheney is expected to try to cash in some of this new found good will. They say he will be asking Turkey to send soldiers to Afghanistan to help in the war against the Taliban.

Turkish forces have on two occasions led the peacekeeping operation in Kabul. As NATO's only Muslim member country, analysts say, Turkey has a unique advantage in providing military assistance to another Muslim nation.

Still, political columnist⁶ and university professor, Nuray Mert, says sending soldiers to Afghanistan is deeply unpopular in Turkey.

 

"There are repeated demands for soldiers to be sent to Afghanistan. It's doomed⁷ to be an unpopular case in Turkey because after the occupation in Iraq, after what happened there, it's very difficult to sell this argument to anybody , any society on Earth let alone Turkey," she said.

Turkey's own government is split on the issue. Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has said the government keeps an open mind, but the head of the Army, General Yasar Buyukanit, has ruled out sending soldiers to Afghanistan.

Birand says he believes there is room for compromise, as long as other NATO members also send more troops.

 

"Turkey is reluctant to send more troops because the view in Ankara is, 'why are we sending and not NATO other allies are not sending.' What Ankara wants let's send altogether troops, don't put all the weight on our shoulders," added Birand.

 

Another key issue on Cheney's agenda, according to some analysts, is Turkey's help in curtailing⁸ Iran's nuclear ambitions. The United States and many of its Western allies accuse Iran of building a nuclear bomb, but Iran has repeatedly denied that.

The United States sees Turkey, which neighbors Iran, as a crucial ally in building international support for sanctions against Iran. But Ankara, Turkish observers point out, has strong trade ties with Tehran and relies on Iran for much of its oil and gas.

Despite the dependency on Iran, analyst⁴ Soli Ozel says Ankara may, for a price, side with the West.

 

"It will want to delay to the last moment any type of confrontation⁹ with Iran. But at one point it will be asked to choose sides, then that's going to be a very tough period. But ultimately what the decision will be, given the fact current government is a lot closer to Sunni Arab system, and both the Sunni Arabs and Americans want the same thing, they will probably decide on the side of dropping Iran," said Ozal. "But they may want extract a lot of concessions¹⁰ in return."

Despite the difficult issues confronting the two countries, observers predict Cheney on this trip will find a far more cooperative Ankara than the United States found in recent years.

1 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。

2 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

3 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

7 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

8 curtailing   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They will be curtailing the discussions at two thirty. 他们将把讨论缩短至两点半。 来自互联网
• Individually, banks are acting rationally by retaining their capital and curtailing lending. 此外，银行们正在合理地保留其资本和减少贷款。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。