Mideast Closely Watches US Secretary of State Succession

By Larry James
Secretary of State Colin Powell's resignation and the reported selection of National Security Advisor¹ Condoleezza Rice as his successor is being watched with great interest in the Middle East.
The Powell resignation came as no surprise here, although there were those who felt the secretary might be tempted² to stay on. The possibility of a more-moderate successor to the late Yasser Arafat was viewed as an opportunity that Mr. Powell might not want to miss. The secretary said as much.
"I think a new opportunity has presented itself in the Middle East and President Bush has spoken to this and hopefully, over the next few weeks, I'll be able to see how much potential there is in this new opportunity in the Middle East with the passing of Chairman Arafat," said Mr. Powell.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who met with Mr. Powell in Washington shortly after the resignation announcement was made, says he was very sorry to hear that the secretary was leaving. He called him a good friend of Israel and a good friend of peace.
The resignation is not expected to have much impact of US policy toward Israel or the broader Middle East.
Former Israel Ambassador to Washington Zalmon Shoval says he did not see Mr. Powell as pro-Palestinian, as some of his critics here have charged. Rather, Mr. Shoval says, his approach to the Middle East was along that held by the Arabists in the State Department ,which does not make him an all-out friend of the Palestinian cause.
"I think he was very clear in his own mind that Arafat was not good news for the Palestinians; that he created a lot of problems; that the Palestinians would have to reform themselves," said Mr. Shoval. "But he may not have been completely in tune³ with the policies propagated by President Bush himself and some of his advisors⁴."
Mr. Shoval says Mr. Bush's recent statements on the Middle East outline a very clearly delineated policy that is in accordance with Israel's view. That is that the Palestinians must establish a democratic structure and break up what he calls the terrorist infrastructure⁵. He also says Israel needs no international conference or special representatives to be appointed, as the Palestinians have repeatedly called for.
"We continue to see the Sharon disengagement plan, which is basically a Sharon-Bush disengagement plan, as the only game in town and that is the basis on which everything else has to proceed," Mr. Shoval said.
Mahdi Abdul Hadi is the director of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs. He, too, anticipates no real changes or any movement toward resuming the peace process, unless Washington changes its priorities. "Whether it is still going to be Iraq, Iran following in the steps of Mr. Sharon or they will realize it has to be Palestine-Israel," said. Mr. Abdel Hadi. "It has to be here."
Mr. Abdel Hadi says there has been no movement in efforts to get the peace process back on track and that no movement is likely unless Washington listens more to what its European partners have to say.
"Condoleeza Rice will know very well about the Wall has been an aggression⁶, settlements should be stopped, the release of detainees is a must," he said. "Changing the environment in Palestinian-Israeli relations should be on the Israeli front first, with no conditions and no pre-conditions, in order to empower the moderate Palestinian leadership and in order not to go into uncertainty⁷ for another four years."
Although no one is anticipating any breakthrough or major steps toward a resumption of the peace process, there was some welcome news for the Palestinian leadership, Monday. Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs⁸ Brigades announced they will unilaterally cease all attacks in Israel for 60 days, to help facilitate elections for Palestinian Authority chairman.
Larry James, VOA News, Jerusalem.
注释：
succession 继任
resignation 辞职
National Security Advisor 国家安全顾问
stay on 继续上任
delineate 描绘
in accordance with与...一致
break up 结束, 分解
disengagement plan 撤退计划
anticipate预订, 预见
detainee未判决囚犯
resumption 恢复
unilaterally  单方面, 单边
cease停止

1 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

2 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

3 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

4 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

8 martyrs   

n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情）

参考例句：

• the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
• They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》