VOA标准英语2008年-Former President Jimmy Carter Defends Recent Me

By Kane Farabaugh
Chicago, Ilinois
14 May 2008
 

When U.S. President George W. Bush travels to the Middle East this week, he plans to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in an effort to restart peace negotiations¹.  One group he will not meet with is Hamas, which the Bush administration considers a terrorist organization. Despite this, former U.S. President and Nobel Laureate Jimmy Carter did meet with leaders of Hamas on a recent visit to Syria and Egypt.  In an interview with VOA's Kane Farabaugh, he defends his meetings, and says that communication with all parties involved is the only way towards peace.

In fierce fighting last June, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, ousting² Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's more moderate Fatah group.  Since then, Hamas has fired rockets into Israeli towns along the Gaza border.

Now, Israel and the U.S. say they will not meet with Hamas, which they label a terrorist group.

But on a recent visit to Syria and Egypt, former President Jimmy Carter did meet with Hamas leaders.  In an interview with Voice of America, he gave his views on why peace has eluded³ Israel in recent years.

"The governments of the two countries I think are wrong in not dealing⁴ with Hamas and in not dealing with Syria,” Carter said. “There is no way that Israel can have peace with their next door neighbors the Palestinians or with Syria without at least talking to the people with whom they disagree.  So, I believe that I was right in going."

President Carter's trip drew a firestorm of criticism, both in the United States and in Israel.

Lonny Nasatir, Chicago director of the Anti-Defamation League [ADL], a Jewish advocacy group, explains that criticism, "We feel that as a result of this, it actually gives Hamas legitimacy⁵."

Mr. Carter clarifies, "My visit didn't legitimize or de-legitimize anybody."

One of the greatest achievements of former President Jimmy Carter's  administration in the 1970s was a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt that continues today.

Now, Mr. Carter points to several positive signs stemming from his talks with Hamas that he says could show a willingness to reach an agreement with Israel, "The day after I left Syria, Hamas proposed to Israel that they have a 60-day cease-fire in Gaza alone, which Israel rejected.  So, not attacking Israel, and recognizing Israel's right to exist, Hamas agreed to both of those propositions," he said.

Hamas, according to Carter, also agreed not to block an independent Palestinian state if Fatah reaches a deal with Israel.   But shortly after Carter's visit, other Hamas officials said the militant⁶ group would never recognize Israel.

Jewish groups such as the ADL - already angry at President Carter for his book "Palestine, Peace not Apartheid" - point to the mixed messages resulting from Carter's visit as a sign Hamas isn't serious about reaching a peace agreement.

"I think people that understand the issue, understand the complexity⁷ of this issue, understand the history of how Hamas got to power, what their central message has been and always has been, I think those people who understand that will understand why seeing them and giving them the impermada of legitimacy is a real problem," Nasatir said.

But American Jewish and Israeli opinion is not unanimous.

Israel's most prominent newspaper, Ha'aretz, in an editorial, lambasted Israel's government for refusing to meet with Mr. Carter during his trip. The newspaper said the former president is owed respect for his work for peace.

Nathan Brown is head of Middle East Studies at George Washington University.   He says despite objections to Mr. Carter's efforts, the Israeli government is pursuing its own dialogue with Hamas.

"There's something that the whole flap about Carter's meetings obscured and that is that the Israelis were negotiating with Hamas already," he said.  "They were doing it through Egyptian mediation⁸.  Carter's mediation was not new.  The only thing it added was lots of TV cameras."

President Carter promises the criticism won't deter⁹ his efforts to help bring peace to the Middle East.  His next step in that process is encouraging the next U.S. President to make it a top priority of their administration.

"My hope is that the next president will announce on inauguration¹⁰ day, that he or she is going to begin immediately to try to bring peace to Israel and it's neighbors," said Mr. Carter.

1 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。

2 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

3 eluded   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• The sly fox nimbly eluded the dogs. 那只狡猾的狐狸灵活地躲避开那群狗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The criminal eluded the police. 那个罪犯甩掉了警察的追捕。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

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 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

8 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

9 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

10 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。