美国国家公共电台 NPR--The U.S. aims to ensure that the aid to Ukraine goes where it's supposed to go

The U.S. aims to ensure that the aid to Ukraine goes where it's supposed to go

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to Mark Cancian, senior adviser² with the Center for Strategic and International Studies' International Security program, about government oversight³ of U.S. aid to Ukraine.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The U.S. has been supporting Ukraine's fight against Russia with billions of dollars in aid and weapons. But lawmakers from both parties have voiced concerns about oversight. And while there's no evidence of any wrongdoing related to Ukraine aid, potential abuse of U.S. taxpayer⁴ money, as we have seen in previous wars, could erode⁵ public support for Kyiv. We called up retired⁶ Marine⁷ Colonel Mark Cancian, who's a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to find out what the government is doing to prevent such a scenario⁸.

MARK CANCIAN: Well, the government's doing a couple of things to track the money and the weapons. The various bills that have provided for the aid have given the government a few million dollars to increase their oversight. The United States tracks the weapons right to the point where we turn them over to the Ukrainians at some base in Poland. The United States has a small group in the embassy that works with the Ukrainian government to track the money and the weapons. The government has worked directly with their counterparts, including President Zelenskyy, to get their assurances that the money and weapons are going to the appropriate uses. And then there's some spot checks that sometimes the United States can make about both the weapons and the funding.

MART?NEZ: I think what people are worried about, or at least concerned about, is that the money is going places where maybe it's not supposed to go. I know that Ukraine, even before the war began, was considered a very corrupt⁹ country. They have their share of oligarchs, just like Russia does. So I think people are worried that maybe the money that's being sent to Ukraine is going into the hands of oligarchs who are now calling themselves freedom fighters.

CANCIAN: Well, I think this is a reasonable concern. Ukraine, before the war, was known for inefficient¹⁰ government and some level of corruption¹¹. Although, the government and the people have fought valiantly¹², that doesn't make the government more efficient or less corrupt. We ran into this problem in Afghanistan and created a group called the SIGAR - the Special Inspector¹³ General for Afghan Reconstruction¹⁴ - that had people on the ground, had a large staff back here in the United States to track money and equipment. And I think that that would be a good step to take for two reasons.

First is that although there have not been any reports about abuses or corruption, it's possible that something might come out. If anything like that came out, if there were intimations about abuse, that would undermine the bipartisan consensus¹⁵ that has existed in the country and in the Congress for supporting aid to Ukraine. I think that many people, if there were evidence of abuse, waste, fraud, would back away from the aid. And I think that would, you know, cause a lot of problems for sustaining Ukrainian resistance.

MART?NEZ: Is it unreasonable¹⁶ to expect every single dollar and cent to be accounted for? Or is there going to be just some level of money that won't show up or that people have to understand just gets lost in the shuffle¹⁷?

CANCIAN: Well, the total amount of aid at this point is $68 billion. I mean, that goes to several different directions, you know? Some of it is to buy weapons. Some of it is humanitarian¹⁸ aid that mostly goes through third parties. And then some of it goes directly to the Ukrainian government. I think it's reasonable to expect a high level of oversight and accountability. You have to keep in mind that most of the U.S. government can't pass an audit¹⁹. So you know, we shouldn't ask them to do - to meet a standard that we can't meet ourselves. But what we're really trying to prevent is, you know, some widespread abuse that would affect, you know, large amounts of money and, you know, aid packages and sustainability.

MART?NEZ: You mentioned SIGAR, Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction. I know that SIGAR, in its quarterly reports, repeatedly stated that the Pentagon often denied to share information needed to provide oversight. How do you balance transparency with national security concerns?

CANCIAN: I think in Ukraine, it's maybe a little easier because U.S. forces are not engaged in operations. So you don't have this question about compromising ongoing²⁰ U.S. operations. So I think it's possible to get around these concerns to provide the accountability that Congress and the American people require.

MART?NEZ: Considering, Colonel, that Ukrainians are trying to stay alive - they're battling for their country right now - is it reasonable to expect more assurances from Kyiv to prevent abuse? Is that something that maybe they can't necessarily guarantee right now, considering the state of the war?

CANCIAN: Well, certainly there's some limits to accountability of, you know, equipment gets destroyed. It, you know, goes to the front lines. And sometimes it's hard to track there. But the question isn't about whether every bullet on the front line is being used appropriately. The question is that none of the equipment is going outside of Ukraine, for example.

Nothing would be - or few things would be more damaging to sustaining bipartisan consensus than if, for instance, some of these anti-tank weapons showed up with Hezbollah because some Ukrainian decided²¹ to make some money on the side by selling the anti-tank weapons. So we can do that sort of tracking. Also, you know, a lot of the money goes directly to the Ukrainian government to support government operations. And that money, you know, goes to Kyiv. And I think it's reasonable there for pretty close accounting²².

MART?NEZ: And how much of the money allocated²³ for Ukraine actually winds up staying in the U.S. and goes into the pockets of weapons manufacturers? It seems like, you know, a lot of the money is going to defense²⁴ industries who make rockets and shells and drones and things like that.

CANCIAN: There's about $18 billion of the funding - a total of $68 billion that's been appropriated so far - that goes to defense industry that is supposed to backfill inventories²⁵ that have been sent to Ukraine and new production for Ukraine. So it's about a third, a quarter of the money goes to defense industry. There are a bunch of other uses on the military side. Also, about half the money in general goes to military purposes and half to humanitarian and economic purposes.

MART?NEZ: Mark Cancian is a retired Marine colonel and also senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies' International Security Program. Colonel, thanks.

CANCIAN: Thanks for having me on the show.

(SOUNDBITE OF LYMBYC SYSTYM'S "PITTSBURGH LEFT (ELIOT LIPP REMIX)")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

4 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

5 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

9 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

10 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

11 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

12 valiantly   

adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳

参考例句：

• He faced the enemy valiantly, shuned no difficulties and dangers and would not hesitate to lay down his life if need be. 他英勇对敌，不避艰险，赴汤蹈火在所不计。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Murcertach strove valiantly to meet the new order of things. 面对这个新事态，默克塔克英勇奋斗。 来自辞典例句

13 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

14 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

15 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

16 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

17 shuffle   

n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走

参考例句：

• I wish you'd remember to shuffle before you deal.我希望在你发牌前记得洗牌。
• Don't shuffle your feet along.别拖着脚步走。

18 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

19 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

20 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

21 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

22 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

23 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

24 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。

25 inventories   

n.总结( inventory的名词复数 )；细账；存货清单（或财产目录）的编制

参考例句：

• In other cases, such as inventories, inputs and outputs are both continuous. 在另一些情况下，比如存货，其投入和产出都是持续不断的。
• The store must clear its winter inventories by April 1st. 该店必须在4月1日前售清冬季存货。