VOA标准英语2009年-US to Send Envoys to Syria

The United States will send two senior officials to Syria within the next few days, possibly signaling a new direction in Middle East diplomacy¹ by the Obama administration.
　
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers a statement in Jerusalem, 3 March 2009

The initial announcement of the decision to dispatch two senior envoys² to Damascus came from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a visit to Jerusalem.

The officials are Jeffrey Feltman, the acting³ assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs and Daniel Shapiro, who oversees⁴ Middle East issues at the National Security Council.

The trip will follow recent visits to Syria by U.S. lawmakers, including the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry.

It also follows meetings between State Department officials and Syria's ambassador Imad Mustafa to the United States.

State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid says the Obama administration is ready for talks with the Syrian government.

"This is one effort on our part to engage with the Syrians on what productive roles they could play, not only for Middle East peace, but also on Iraq," he said. "Do we want to engage with the Syrians? Yes we do."

The Bush administration recalled its ambassador to Syria in 2005, following the assassination⁵ of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Duguid says the time is not yet ripe to send a new ambassador to Damascus.

"It would in a normal relationship be unusual to not have an ambassador in place," he said. "We have not had a normal relationship for some time. We are working with the other foreign policy agencies in the U.S. government to develop a better relationship or the means for a better relationship with Syria, but this cannot be unreciprocated."

The United States has criticized Syria for supporting militant⁶ groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and for not doing enough to prevent foreign fighters from crossing its border into Iraq.

U.S. officials have also expressed concern that Syria had a secret North Korea-designed nuclear reactor⁷ in a remote desert, until it was bombed by Israeli jets in 2007.

Spokesman Duguid says the Obama administration is currently reviewing its policy toward Damascus.

"We are looking at our Syria policy right now," he said. "We are discussing our relationship with the Syrians. I do not have to go down for you the list of things that are differences that we have with them at the moment. We will see where these meetings go before we go to the next step."

Secretary Clinton says it is too early to predict the future of U.S.-Syria relations or whether the troubled relationship will improve.

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

5 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

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 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。