VOA常速英语2007年-US Defense Chief Still Considers Iran a Threat,

By Challiss McDonough
Beirut
08 December 2007

The U.S. secretary of defense¹ says he still believes Iran is trying to "foment² instability and chaos³" in the Middle East, despite the recent reversal of U.S. intelligence on Iran's nuclear weapons program. VOA Middle East Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Beirut.

Speaking at a regional security conference in the Gulf⁴ nation of Bahrain, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he continues to see Iran as a threat to U.S. interests and to the interests of all countries in the Middle East.

Gates stated, "although our nations have differing perspectives and histories, we nonetheless share a deep concern about Iran's current course. While we must keep our options open, the United States and the international community must continue - and intensify⁵ - our economic, financial, and diplomatic pressures on Iran to suspend enrichment and agree to verifiable arrangements that can prevent that country from resuming its nuclear weapons program at a moment's notice - at the whim⁶ of its most militant⁷ leaders."

Gates said he still believes Iran is pursuing what he called "destabilizing foreign policies" and is trying to "foment instability and chaos" in the Middle East, even though U.S. intelligence agencies recently concluded, in a National Intelligence Estimate, that Iran stopped trying to build nuclear weapons four years ago.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said earlier this week that the U.S. report is "a victory" for Iran against world powers. He also said Iran will not retreat "one step" in its pursuit of peaceful nuclear technology.

In Tehran on Saturday, Iran's foreign minister denied the report's claim that Iran was, until 2003, trying to develop nuclear weapons.

In his speech, Gates challenged Tehran to accept other U.S. assessments⁸, including the belief by U.S. intelligence agencies that Iran has funded and trained militia⁹ groups in Iraq, funneled¹⁰ weapons to Iraq and Afghanistan, and supported terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. "In reality, you cannot pick and choose only the conclusions you like of this National Intelligence Estimate," he said.

Gates acknowledged that the new U.S. intelligence report has made it harder to push for more international sanctions against Iran to pressure it into abandoning its uranium enrichment program. He went on to say, "the estimate clearly has come at an awkward time. It has annoyed a number of our good friends. It has confused a lot of people around the world in terms of what we are trying to accomplish."

The remarks by Gates, and earlier ones made by President Bush, have fueled skepticism in the Middle East about the Bush administration's policies in the region.

Political analyst¹¹ Amal Saad-Ghorayeb of the Carnegie Endowment's Middle East Center in Beirut says she views the new intelligence report on Iran as connected to recent shifts in U.S. tactics in dealing¹² also with Syria and Lebanon.

Saad-Ghorayeb stated "if we also look at the NIE report with regards to Iran, and the shelving -- perhaps temporarily -- of the military option, yes I think we are witnessing perhaps a good injection of realism in the Bush administration now. I'm not at all over-optimistic about that, however. I think this is just a temporary change in tactics for now. It's by no means a change in US strategy on how to deal with the region in terms of US objectives for the region."

Iran's foreign minister was originally scheduled to attend the Bahrain conference where Gates spoke¹³, but the Iranian delegation¹⁴ canceled at the last minute without explanation

Iran says it has filed a formal diplomatic protest over the use of espionage¹⁵ in preparing the U.S. intelligence report.

President Bush has indicated that a new source of information prompted the revision of U.S. intelligence on Iran's nuclear weapons program, but he did not elaborate. News reports in the U.S. have said the information included intercepted¹⁶ communications between Iranian military commanders.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 foment   

v.煽动，助长

参考例句：

• The rebels know the truth and seek to foment revolution.那些叛乱者知道真相，并且想办法来挑起革命。
• That's an attempt to foment discord.这是挑拨。

3 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

4 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。

5 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

6 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

7 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

8 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

9 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

10 funneled   

漏斗状的

参考例句：

• The crowd funneled through the hall. 群众从走廊中鱼贯而过。
• The large crowd funneled out of the gates after the football match. 足球赛后大群人从各个门中涌出。

11 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。

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 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。

14 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

15 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

16 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。