双语：中东会议三国首脑各怀心事(图)

　　When the Bush administration first proposed holding a Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, some months ago, the idea was greeted with almost universal skepticism. Op-ed writers mocked the key participants—U.S. President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas—for their political weakness. Ordinary Israelis and Palestinians, aware of past failures, were wary. Even the protagonists seemed ambivalent. During the conference last week, the three leaders seemed to be hedging their bets rather than announcing anything groundbreaking.

　　Olmert and Abbas, in a joint statement read by Bush, pledged to "make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008" on all outstanding issues separating the Israelis from the Palestinians. Yet when Abbas laid out his proposals for such a deal, Olmert and Bush avoided addressing them, sticking to nice words about "ending the occupation" and establishing "a new nation, a democratic Palestinian state."

　　During his seven years in office, President Bush has been criticized repeatedly for neglecting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially compared with the enthusiastic efforts of his predecessor, Bill Clinton. In changing course now, Bush argued that the time was finally right, citing the urgency of regional tensions and the desire for peace by leaders on both sides.

　　几个月前，当布什政府第一次提出在马里兰州的安纳波利斯举行一次中东和平会议时，这个想法几乎遭到了全世界的怀疑。反对派作家们嘲笑主要的参会者美国总统乔治·W ·布什、以色列总理埃胡德·奥尔默特和巴勒斯坦民族权力机构主席马哈茂德·阿巴斯三个人在政治上的弱点。普通的以色列人和巴勒斯坦人因为知道过去和谈的失败而持谨慎态度。即使是会议的主角们，心态也是矛盾的。在上周的会议上，三位领导人似乎都在表达模棱两可的观点而不是宣布有任何突破性的进展。

　　奥尔默特和阿巴斯在一份由布什宣读的联合声明中保证，竭尽努力在2008年底前就所有有关巴以分治的尚未解决的事项达成一项协议。然而，当阿巴斯为这项协议提出建议时，奥尔默特和布什回避了这些建议，而是强调“结束占领”和建立“一个新的国家，一个民主的巴勒斯坦国”这样的美丽词语。

　　执政7年以来，布什总统一直因忽视以巴冲突而屡遭批评，特别是和前任比尔·克林顿所做出的积极努力相比。现在在改变方针的时候，布什争辩说，恰当的时机终于到了，他指出了地区紧张关系带来的紧迫感和双方领导人对和平的渴望。