U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the United States should develop some leverage on Iran and then hold talks with the regime that the U.S. government says supports global terrorism and sponsors insurgents in Iraq who are killing American troops.
美国国防部长罗伯特.盖茨说，美国应该首先发展某种制衡伊朗的力量，然后再和伊朗举行会谈。 美国政府认为伊朗支持全球恐怖主义以及赞助在伊拉克杀害美国军人的反叛分子。
Secretary Gates says the United States needs to recognize that Iran will need to get something out of any talks, so U.S. officials should not expect to simply go into talks with Iran with a list of demands. He also said more people-to-people exchanges could help build such U.S. leverage on Iranian leaders.
盖茨说，美国必须意识到伊朗需要从任何会谈中得到些什么，因此，美国官员不要认为仅仅举行谈判、提出一系列要求就行了。他还说，进行更多人民之间的交流会帮助美国发展这种制衡伊朗领导人的力量。
The secretary spoke to the American Academy of Diplomacy Wednesday evening, but reporters were not allowed to record the event for broadcast.
盖茨星期三晚间在美国外交学院发表上述讲话，但是组织者不允许记者为广播而录音。
He said the 2006 Iraq Study Group's recommendation for more engagement with Iran has not been implemented. Secretary Gates said the United States might have missed an opportunity to engage with Iran during the term of former president Mohammad Khatami. But he indicated it will be more difficult to have constructive talks with Iran today, under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
盖茨说，伊拉克研究小组2006年提出的与伊朗进行更多接触的建议并没有实施。他说，美国也许已经错过了在伊朗前总统卡塔米在任期间与伊朗接触的机会。但是，他表示，今天，在伊朗总统艾哈迈迪内贾德的领导下，和伊朗进行有建设性的会谈更加困难。
Secretary Gates said that is why the United States needs to develop some leverage.
盖茨说，这就是美国必须发展某种制衡力量的原因。
On Thursday, the Pentagon spokesman, Geoff Morrell, said Gates was only speaking about increasing current diplomatic, economic and military pressure on Iran.
美国五角大楼发言人杰弗里.莫雷尔星期四说，盖茨的意思只是加大目前对伊朗的外交、经济和军事压力。
"The only incentive that would be offered to the Iranians would be a reduction, a diminishment, of that pressure if they were to change their behavior, if they were to abandon their pursuit of a nuclear program and stop destabilizing the region in which they live," said Geoff Morrell.
他说：“目前唯一能够提供给伊朗人的好处就是减少、逐渐消除这样的压力，要是伊朗改变他们的行为，放弃核项目并停止在他们所生活的地区制造动荡。”
Morrell said that is the only way there could be U.S.-Iranian negotiations.
莫雷尔说，唯一解决途径就是美国和伊朗进行谈判。
Secretary Gates' comments came just a few hours before President Bush appeared to rule out any talks with Iran. During a visit to Israel, the president put Iran's leader in the same category as terrorists from Hamas and Hezbollah, who Iran supports.
在盖茨发表讲话后几个小时，美国总统布什似乎排除了与伊朗举行任何会谈的可能性。布什在以色列访问时把伊朗领导人与伊朗支持的哈马斯和真主党领导人一起归为恐怖份子。
"Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along," said Mr. Bush. "We have heard this foolish delusion before. We have an obligation to call this what it is - the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."
布什说：“有些人似乎认为我们应该与恐怖分子和激进分子谈判，仿佛一些独到的辩解就能让他们相信他们一直是错的。我们以前也听说过这样愚蠢的幻想，我们有责任实事求是地把这种想法称为绥靖主义的自欺欺人。这种做法已经被历史一再证明是错误的。”
Pentagon Press Secretary Morrell was quick to say Gates is not calling for negotiations with Iran now, which would contradict the president's position.
五角大楼发言人莫雷尔急忙表示，盖茨并不是呼吁现在就与伊朗举行会谈，如果是这样的话，盖茨就和总统的立场相矛盾了。
"I can tell you there's absolutely no gap between the secretary's position on Iran and the president's position on Iran," he said.
他说：“我可以告诉你的是，国防部长和总统在伊朗问题的立场上绝对没有分歧。”
Morrell says there is no plan for any U.S. military officials to hold talks with Iran, and he is not aware of any other plans in the U.S. government, beyond the U.S.-Iran-Iraq ambassadorial talks held from time to time in Baghdad.
莫雷尔说，目前美国官员没有任何计划与伊朗举行会谈。他说，除了美国、伊朗、伊拉克三方不时在巴格达举行大使级会谈外，他不知道美国政府还有其他的计划。 |