VOA慢速英语20061118a

IN THE NEWS - Fixing Iraq -- by Facing Iran, Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict as Well?By Brianna Blake

Broadcast: Saturday, November 18, 2006

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

The Middle East was very much in the news this week. These were a few of the developments:


Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country was ready to take the final step in its nuclear program. He did not say what that would be. But he said Iran would celebrate its right to nuclear technology by March, the end of the Iranian year.

Iran says its uranium enrichment program is to make fuel for nuclear energy. But enriched uranium could also be used for bombs.

Iran refused a demand by the United Nations Security Council to halt its enrichment activities by the end of August. But Russia and China have been rejecting restrictions¹ proposed by the United States and its European allies to punish Iran.

The Bush administration also accuses Iran of inciting² violence in Iraq -- another charge that Iranian officials deny.

In Washington, some Democratic lawmakers have called for talks with both Iran and Syria. They say it could help the situation in Iraq.

The newly elected Democratic majority will take control of Congress in January. Already there have been proposals to urge the president to begin removing some troops from Iraq within six months.

More than two thousand eight hundred American service members have been killed since the war began in two thousand three.

On Monday, President Bush met with members of the Iraq Study Group. The group is led by former Secretary of State James Baker⁴, a Republican, and former Representative Lee Hamilton, a Democrat³.

The ten-member group is to give advice about what to do in Iraq. The members have talked to many people and made several trips to Iraq during eight months of research. The group is expected to present its ideas in December.

President Bush says he is open to fresh ideas. But he has said he does not support pulling out troops without a victory. Victory is defined as an Iraq that can take care of itself and also be an ally in the war on terror.

The president's closest ally on Iraq, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, appeared Tuesday before the Iraq Study Group by video link.

Earlier, in a foreign policy speech, he proposed a 'whole Middle East' strategy to unite moderate Arabs and Muslims in a push for peace.

Efforts would start with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, followed by Lebanon and Iraq. The aim is to ease what he called the pressure points in the Middle East.

Mister Blair accused Iran of using these pressure points to stop Middle East peace efforts. He has said for some time that the best way to end the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan is with help from nations such as Iran and Syria.

Also this week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged an end to the recent violence between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza. He met in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and diplomats⁵ from the so-called Middle East quartet. The four are the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

5 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》