美国国家公共电台 NPR--U.S. unfreezes billions of Afghanistan's money aiming to stabilize its economy

U.S. unfreezes billions of Afghanistan's money aiming to stabilize¹ its economy

Transcript²

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West about a new fund being created for some of the frozen money from the Afghan central bank.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The United States says Afghanistan can have some of its money back. The U.S. says it found a way to ensure that Afghans benefit from their central bank funds while the country's Taliban rulers do not. Last year, you may recall, when the Taliban seized power, the U.S. froze billions of dollars' worth of assets belonging to the Afghan central bank. This was money the Afghans had deposited or invested in the United States. Neither the U.S. nor anybody else has recognized the Taliban. And the U.S. has ignored the calls to give the money to them. But a new fund is designed to help the people who face economic desperation. Thomas West is the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan. And he's on the line. Ambassador, welcome back to the program.

THOMAS WEST: Thank you very much for having me.

INSKEEP: What's the plan here?

WEST: So the purpose of this fund, which has been months in the works, is to preserve, protect and to make targeted disbursements of Afghan reserves to support the Afghan people, to support macroeconomic stability. We have been working with Swiss partners on this initiative closely. And we are really grateful to them for their support. This is going to make available to the Afghan people a large amount of money, really, that's for macroeconomic stability, so we can keep Afghanistan current on its arrears³ to international financial institutions. We can potentially keep them current on electricity payments, as well as other purposes.

INSKEEP: I'm just trying to think that through. When you say electricity payments, I know that Afghanistan gets some of its electricity from outside the country. You're saying that if they're having trouble paying those bills to keep the lights on, this money might be used to pay the bills and keep the lights on.

WEST: That's right. I have to say, the first option is going to continue to be to have the Afghan central bank, which is called the Afghanistan Bank, make those payments themselves. They have made some of those payments. There are courageous⁴ technocrats⁵ that remain in that institution. And we hope that we don't have to make payments from this foundation. But it is possible. And this is a new source for those purposes.

INSKEEP: Does the Taliban ever touch this money?

WEST: No.

INSKEEP: Which I gather would be important to you because the leader of al-Qaida was recently found in Kabul and hit by a drone strike. We were there. The NPR team actually was in Kabul at the time. And some were awoken by the strike. People will naturally ask if there is, nevertheless, some way the Taliban would benefit from the distribution of this money no matter what you do.

WEST: We're going to have an external auditor⁶ as part of this foundation, as part of this fund. And we will rigorously ensure that none of this money goes to the Taliban.

INSKEEP: I want to ask about the way the money is being used. You've indicated that it will go to help people. It appears it doesn't go to the central bank that is now overseen⁷ by the Taliban. That's an institution that's supposed to manage inflation. Now, we spoke⁸ the other day on the program with Shah Mehrabi, who is on the board of the central bank. He says inflation is out of control, that this hurts millions of people. He did recognize the administration is aiming for aid to people, but he added this. Let's listen.

SHAH MEHRABI: No increase in humanitarian⁹ aid can compensate¹⁰ for the macroeconomic harm of soaring prices for basic commodities. It could not fully¹¹ compensate for the banking¹² collapse¹³ or balance of payment crisis and other consequences that could ripple¹⁴ through the Afghan society and harm the most vulnerable people.

INSKEEP: Is he right, that you're leaving the central bank so weak that millions of people will be harmed far more than you can help them?

WEST: Steve, we have to deal in realities. And the fact is, when the Taliban forcefully took the country, many dozens of senior, capable technocrats left that central bank. And they hollowed out the institution. That is a body that no longer has a credible¹⁵ - what we call AML/CFT architecture in place - that's anti-money laundering¹⁶ and countering financial terrorism - controls in place. It's a body that doesn't have the kind of software and policies in place that we expect from any central bank in the world to be sure that we don't see money go to terrorists, go to criminals. And so we are pragmatic in this administration. I think it's in our interest to see a more capable central bank in place, one with independent monitoring in place. And so we're going to work on that basis.

INSKEEP: Can you at least imagine some future configuration¹⁷ of that central bank where it did feel independent of the Taliban rulers and you could deal with it like a normal central bank?

WEST: Right now, we're quite far off. I don't want to mislead you. We're not on the cusp of recapitalizing the Afghan central bank, of recapitalizing the financial system. I would want to have confidence to say to the American people that I am sure that if we were to proceed with even an iterative recapitalization of the financial system that none of that money would go to terrorists, would go to criminals. And today, I can't say that. But in time - is it possible? - yes, it's possible. But we're not there today.

INSKEEP: I want to ask about the rest of the money because some people will know that while $3.5 billion are being placed in this fund, there's an equivalent amount of money that's being held back by the Biden administration. The president is reserving that money for 9/11 families who sued for a share of it. And so some clearly want the money. Some other families have said they don't want the money. I've got a quote here, actually, from Kelly Campbell of an organization called 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. Quote, "the idea that they are on the brink¹⁸ of famine and that we would be holding onto their money for any purpose is just wrong." Now that you have this fund to help the Afghan people, should you just put all the money there?

WEST: Steve, the scope of the humanitarian catastrophe¹⁹ in Afghanistan is truly dire²⁰. And the United States has done more than any country to answer that need. We have contributed $815 million in humanitarian aid. We have passed seven - what are called general licenses²¹, which provide comfort to any organization, relief, or even a company that is seeking to meet the need. We have championed a U.N. Security Council resolution that provides for the flexibility²² of those organizations to meet the need.

So we will continue to try to erect²³ a policy architecture that helps the Afghan people get the food they need, get the medicine they need and so forth²⁴. We've worked with international financial institutions, including the World Bank, to be sure that suspended assets in their systems go to meet basic services. But when it comes to assets, you talk to any economist²⁵, and they will say that foreign reserves need to be preserved for the conduct of monetary²⁶ policy. And so that is what the suspended reserves will be used for.

INSKEEP: Ambassador, it's been a pleasure talking with you. Thanks for taking our questions.

WEST: Thank you, Steve.

INSKEEP: Tom West is the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan.

1 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

2 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。

3 arrears   

n.到期未付之债，拖欠的款项；待做的工作

参考例句：

• The payments on that car loan are in arrears by three months.购车贷款的偿付被拖欠了三个月。
• They are urgent for payment of arrears of wages.他们催讨拖欠的工钱。

4 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

5 technocrats   

n.技术专家，专家政治论者( technocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Few business barons remained. They were replaced by "technocrats," who became the heads of corporations. 企业巨头所剩无几，大多已被“技术专家”所代替，这些人成了公司的领导。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• However, bankers called the technocrats' bluff and proceeded to lend with gusto. 但是，银行家们称技术专家官员不过在虚张声势，并且还会乐观的继续借贷业务。 来自互联网

6 auditor   

n.审计员，旁听着

参考例句：

• The auditor was required to produce his working papers.那个审计员被要求提供其工作底稿。
• The auditor examines the accounts of all county officers and departments.审计员查对所有县官员及各部门的帐目。

7 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 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。

10 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

13 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

14 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

15 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

16 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 configuration   

n.结构，布局，形态，(计算机)配置

参考例句：

• Geographers study the configuration of the mountains.地理学家研究山脉的地形轮廓。
• Prices range from $119 to $199,depending on the particular configuration.价格因具体配置而异，从119美元至199美元不等。

18 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

19 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

20 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

21 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

22 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

23 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

24 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

25 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

26 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。