VOA标准英语2009年-Saudis, Others Looking Forward to Obama Vi

President Obama is set to visit Saudi Arabia on June 3 to meet with King Abdullah, just a day before visiting Cairo, and many Saudis are speculating about what the two men will discuss. As the guardian¹ of Islam's holy sites and the author of a 2002 Arab peace plan, King Abdullah carries much clout² in the Islamic world.

U.S. ties with Saudi Arabia go back to the founding of the Saudi Kingdom in the 1930s, and were strengthened with the discovery of oil by a U.S. company several years later.

Saudi Arabia became a key U.S. ally during the Cold War, and despite brief periods of rocky relations, has kept close ties with the United States ever since.

President Barack Obama's visit to Saudi Arabia is being seen by many analysts⁴ as an opportunity to renew those ties, as well as to address many mutual⁵ concerns, including Iran, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the global economic crisis.

Saudi King Abdullah came to power in August 2005, after the death of his half-brother King Fahd. Abdullah was reputed to be a man of the people, and a proponent⁶ of reform.

King Abdullah found himself locked in a vicious insurgency⁷ against al-Qaida terrorists and has cracked down on them in recent years, restoring order, for the most part.

The Saudi monarch⁸ describes his fight against al-Qaida:

"A small band of criminal terrorists," he says, "is spoiling our relations with others and is defiling⁹ the image of Islam and of Muslims. It is up to us," he argues, "to combat that band, put them out of business and build relations with others based on sound logic¹⁰ ..."

King Abdullah carries a great deal of clout in the Arab and Islamic world, and as Paul Salem, the director of the Carnegie Center for Peace in the Middle East, points out he is a key to improving U.S. relations with Arabs and Muslims.

"King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia is a major player on three fronts: one front is the general Islamic world; Saudi Arabia hosts the Organization of the Islamic Conference and is the site of Mecca and Medina, so it is an important player in Obama's attempt to repair relations with the Muslim world and the Arab world," Salem said.

Salem also stresses economy and security issues are likely to be at the center of discussions between Mr. Obama and the king.

"Saudi Arabia is a main player on Gulf¹¹ issues, Gulf security, oil and tensions with Iran, so I am sure there is a lot to talk about there. ... Saudi Arabia is the one that tabled the Arab peace initiative [in 2002], and is a main player in the Arab-Israeli peace process. In addition, Saudi Arabia is also a main player in the global economic crisis that the United States is going through," Salem said.

Editor Khaled al-Maeena, of the Saudi English-language daily Arab News, thinks Saudis would like to tell Mr. Obama a number of things.

"The first thing the Saudis would want to tell him is that there should be an even-handed U.S. policy, a more clear approach to the issues of the Middle East, and that includes the total Middle East, Palestine and then the Gulf, and even as far as Pakistan is concerned," al-Maeena said.

Al-Maeena also thinks that Saudis would like to ask Mr. Obama to correct what they perceive as the "mistakes" of the Bush administration, such as dealing¹² with sheikhs and princes and potentates¹³, while ignoring the common man.

"Remember one thing: the United States at the time of the Bush administration had made a mistake: they would deal with oil-rich sheikhs and potentates, but they did not deal with the masses and had no idea of the aspiration¹⁴ of the masses, which they just judged as extremists," al-Maeena said. "There is a constituency in the Arab world, there are people who would really like to be treated with dignity; there are people who would want friends and not masters, and I think Obama should realize this."

Al-Maeena also stresses that Saudi King Abdullah is a wise man and that President Obama could learn from him.

"Obama is fortunate to talk with the king. King Abdullah is a man of few words, but he says what he means and means what he says, and I think it is very important for Obama to listen to a man who has been in Arab politics, and who cares for the people," al-Maeena said.

U.S. ally Israel is also looking at the Obama-Abdullah meeting with interest, according to analyst³ Meir Javedanfar of the Middle East Economic and Political Analysis Center in Tel Aviv.

"The Israeli government sees Saudi Arabia, alongside Jordan and Egypt as a front against Iran. So, the stronger the relations between Washington and Riyadh are, the more Israel hopes that America can pressure the Saudis to confront the increase of Iranian influence in the Middle East," Javedanfar said.

Saudi Arabia has long been seen as a political counter-weight to Iran in the Gulf region and its relationships in the Middle East gives it the ability to temper various regional conflicts.

1 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

2 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

6 proponent   

n.建议者；支持者；adj.建议的

参考例句：

• Stapp became a strong early proponent of automobile seat belts.斯塔普是力主在汽车上采用座椅安全带的早期倡导者。
• Halsey was identified as a leading proponent of the values of progressive education.哈尔西被认为是进步教育价值观的主要支持者。

7 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

8 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

9 defiling   

v.玷污( defile的现在分词 )；污染；弄脏；纵列行进

参考例句：

• Why, to put such a phantasmagoria on the table would be defiling the whole flat. 是啊，在桌上摆这么一个妖形怪状的东西，就把整个住宅都弄得乌烟瘴气了！” 来自互联网

10 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

11 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。

12 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。

13 potentates   

n.君主，统治者( potentate的名词复数 )；有权势的人

参考例句：

• Among high-fashion potentates, Arnault has taken an early lead on the Internet. 在高级时装大亨中，阿诺尔特在互联网方面同样走在了前面。 来自互联网

14 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。