2006年VOA标准英语-Experts Urge Direct US-Iranian Talks to Re

By Andre de Nesnera
Washington
28 April 2006

 
U.N. security council meeting (file photo)
  
Iran has once again rejected cooperation with the United Nations in curtailing² its nuclear weapons ambitions. Some experts are calling for direct U.S.-Iranian talks to resolve the issue.

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The confrontation³ between many Western nations and Iran is heating up as Tehran continues to defy the international community by enriching uranium - a process that can be used either for civilian⁴ or military purposes.

Iranian officials have said for years their program is meant only for peaceful goals, such as producing electricity. But the United States and Europe believe Tehran's ambitions are ultimately to build nuclear weapons.

Experts say now that Tehran has refused to stop its enrichment program, as demanded by the United Nations Security Council, the international community must look at measures to force Iran to comply with U.N. demands. One solution would be to impose sanctions, though Russia and China are against such measures.

Others have advocated a military attack on Iran. Bush administration officials have stated 'all options are on the table,' meaning a military strike has not been ruled out. But at the same time, they have stressed diplomacy⁵ is the way forward.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns repeated that message during a recent State Department briefing.

"We are devoted⁶ and dedicated⁷ to making the Security Council process effective," he said.  "We are putting an enormous amount of energy and a lot of resources into thinking through how the Security Council can be effective. So we haven't given up on diplomacy. We have not given up on the Security Council and the largest part of our effort will be through the Security Council."

However a number of foreign policy experts have said the best way to address Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions would be through direct talks between Washington and Tehran. One of those experts is Joseph Cirincione, from the Council on Foreign Relations.

"We have diplomacy. We can negotiate," he said.  "The United States is not even talking to Iran yet. Why not? Why aren't we negotiating with Iran? We negotiated with Libya. We're negotiating with North Korea. We negotiated with Stalin and Mao.  Why aren't we talking with Iran?"

Last month there was an agreement to begin discussions between Washington and Tehran restricted only to Iraqi-related issues. Iran has close ties to some members of the Shiaa community in Iraq.

But U.S. officials have said those talks have been delayed pending⁸ the formation of a new Iraqi government. And Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says now that there is a new Iraqi Prime Minister, there is no need for direct U.S.-Iranian talks.

However Ted¹ Carpenter, foreign policy expert at the Cato Institute, says Mr. Ahmadinejad does not speak for the entire Iranian leadership.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad   
  
"We have to understand that in Iran, the president basically controls the cabinet and not much more than that," said Mr. Carpenter.  "The real power lies with the senior mullahs. Many of them appear to be far more interested in talking to the United States than Ahmadinejad is."

Carpenter says if the talks take place, the United States should not just focus on Iran's role in Iraq. They should be expanded to include nuclear issues - and he says Washington should offer Iran what he calls 'a grand bargain.'

"It would be a proposal to normalize diplomatic relations with Iran, to end all economic sanctions and normalize economic relations in exchange for an agreement whereby Iran would allow comprehensive, on demand, international inspections⁹ of its nuclear program to make sure that, while Iran might build a peaceful nuclear power program, it would not be able to divert fissile material to a weapons program," he added.

Carpenter says such a deal would benefit both parties and would resolve the dispute without the danger of military action.

Charles Kupchan, former National Security Council member in the first Clinton administration, says face-to-face talks raise some important questions.

"Would a direct American dialogue with Tehran accord the regime and the country the sort of respect that they are seeking and make them more compliant¹⁰? Or would it, on the other hand, make them feel like they are making progress and therefore dig in their heels? It's a debate that is taking place within the foreign policy community today," he explained.  "And it is also something that is probably being discussed across the Atlantic where the Europeans may be encouraging the United States to get more involved."

For the time being, President Bush says one-on-one talks could present problems and he favors a multi-national approach.

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 curtailing   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They will be curtailing the discussions at two thirty. 他们将把讨论缩短至两点半。 来自互联网
• Individually, banks are acting rationally by retaining their capital and curtailing lending. 此外，银行们正在合理地保留其资本和减少贷款。 来自互联网

3 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

6 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

8 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

9 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 compliant   

adj.服从的，顺从的

参考例句：

• I don't respect people who are too compliant.我看不起那种唯命是从，唯唯诺诺的人。
• For years I had tried to be a compliant and dutiful wife.几年来，我努力做一名顺从和尽职尽职的妻子。