2007年VOA标准英语-Rice Authorizes Talks With Syria on Iraq Refuge

By David Gollust
Washington
08 February 2007

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Senators Thursday she has instructed the chief of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Damascus to engage the Syrian government on the issue of Iraqi refugees. The move is part of a broader effort by the Bush administration to help deal with the refugee problem. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Condoleezza Rice testifies  before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's on Capitol Hill, 8 Feb 2007

Officials here dismiss suggestions that the decision by Rice signals a thaw¹ in the frosty U.S.-Syrian relationship.

But they say it does reflect an increased focus by the Bush administration on the growing number of Iraqis who have either been displaced internally by the conflict or who have taken refuge in nearby states, mainly Jordan, Syria, Iran and Lebanon.

Rice disclosed the move at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in response to questioning from Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, a leading critic of administration Iraq policy, who said the problem of displaced Iraqis is immense and getting worse:

"There is general agreement that around two million Iraqis have left that country, a third of the doctors at least, have left that country," said Hagel. "And we could go through an entire agenda, inventory² of demographics on this. But we also have to factor in, as you do, the realities of the security issue in Baghdad and other areas, in which we now know that ethnic³ cleansing⁴ is occurring."

Though Senator Hagel suggested that there was little the United States could do given a lack of dialogue with Iran and Syria, Secretary Rice said that unlike Iran the United States maintains diplomatic relations with Syria and that American charge d'affaires Michael Corbin has been told to take up the issue with the Damascus government:

"I have authorized⁵ our charge to talk with the Syrians," she said. "We have a charge there who does have discussions with the Syrians about a variety of things. But I have authorized him explicitly⁶ to talk to the Syrians about the issue of refugees."

Rice also said the United States is in close contact on the issue with Jordan, where the United Nations estimates that as many as 700,000 Iraqis are living.

A senior official here said the instructions to the U.S. envoy⁷ in Syria went out earlier this week in connection with the announcement of the creation of a new State Department task force on Iraqi refugees and the internally displaced.

The task force, headed by Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, is to report to Rice in a few weeks on how to better target U.S. refugee assistance, and also deal the problem of Iraqis put at risk because of their work for the U.S. government.

The secretary of state is scheduled to discuss the issue next week in a meeting with the U.N. High Commissioner⁸ for Refugees, Antonio Gutierrez.

The Bush administration has come under criticism in Congress and elsewhere for admitting fewer that 500 Iraqi refugees since 2003.

The senior official who spoke⁹ to reporters said it was premature¹⁰ to discuss the admission of more Iraqis, but did not rule it out.

Under current legislation, the United States admits 70,000 officially-designated refugees each year.

 

Most of them are admitted through a system of regional allocations under which 5,500 a year currently come from the Middle East.

1 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

2 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

5 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

6 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。