VOA标准英语2009-Gates: Arab Allies Should Not Worry About Possib

U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates is on a trip to the Middle East, where he says he will tell two key American allies they should not worry about any potential improvements in American relations with Iran.
　
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates

Secretary Gates says he will tell Egyptian and Saudi leaders the Obama administration will not abandon long-time U.S. allies, if it manages to improve relations with Iran.

Gates said, "One important message will be, particularly for the Saudis, that any kind of outreach to Iran will not be at the expense of our long-term relationships with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf² States, that have been our partners and friends for decades. We will deal with this in a sensible way and in a way that hopefully increases the security of everybody in the region, not just us."

Gates: 'Be Realistic' About Iran

But Secretary Gates also told reporters traveling with him to Cairo that everyone concerned should be realistic about the prospects³ of any significant improvement in U.S.-Iranian relations.

Gates said, "There's probably some concerns in the region that may draw on an exaggerated sense of what's possible. And, I just think it's important to reassure⁴ our friends and allies in the region that, while we're willing to reach out to the Iranians, as the president said, with an open hand, I think everybody in the administration, from the president on down, is pretty realistic, and will be pretty tough-minded if we still encounter a closed fist."

Gates also said he wants American friends in the Middle East, like mostly Sunni Muslim Egypt and Saudi Arabia, to work more closely with Iraq's Shiite-led government.

He said, "I think that, if the Arab world is concerned about Iranian influence in Baghdad, then the way to deal with that is to have more Arab influence in Baghdad, more ambassadors, more engagement with regional security arrangements that involve the Arab states. One way to allay⁵ their concerns is for them to reach out and be a counter-influence in Baghdad, and I think that's very important."

Egypt Key In Middle East Peace

Secretary Gates says Egypt has already taken what he called "some serious steps forward" toward engaging with the Iraqi leadership.

During his first stop, in Cairo, Gates says he will also discuss the Middle East peace process with Egyptian leaders who, he says, have played a "huge role" mediating⁶ between Israel and the Palestinians in the past. He also says he wants to talk about efforts to fight smuggling⁷ through the tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the militant⁸ Palestinian faction⁹, Hamas.

Later, in Riyadh, the secretary says he will discuss the possibility that Saudi Arabia might accept some of the Yemeni detainees from the Guantanamo detention¹⁰ center. He says the Saudi program for absorbing former detainees from Guantanamo is "the most successful of any country." Gates is co-chair of a committee President Barack Obama created to figure out how to close the controversial facility and transfer or put on trial most of its remaining 250 detainees. Gates says there are more Yemenis remaining at Guantanamo than any other nationality.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

4 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

5 allay   

v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)

参考例句：

• The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
• They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

6 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。

7 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

8 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。

9 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。

10 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。