福克斯新闻 美国政府高官用军人的英勇作挡箭牌逃避责任(上)

Less than 24 hours after Biden's tone deaf and hectoring speech about the Afghan withdrawal¹, his top military leaders decided² to further squander³ what's left of their credibility.

在拜登发表了关于阿富汗撤军的不知所云又虚张声势的讲话后不到24小时，他的最高军事领导人决定进一步挥霍他们仅剩的信誉。

Today, they came off like junior members of the White House comms team, saying anything to prop⁴ up the commander-in-chief who didn't fire them.

今天，他们表现得就像白宫通讯团队的初级成员一样，说着任何可以用来支持没有解雇他们的总司令的话。

Well, they bombed. But not in the way we want the military to bomb.

他们惨败。但不是我们希望的那种军队轰炸的方式。

We have 13 American troops dead, hundreds of our fellow citizens stuck in enemy territory, and an emboldened⁵ Taliban and other terrorists.

我们有13名美国士兵阵亡，数百名同胞被困在敌方领土，塔利班和其他恐怖分子变得更加大胆妄为。

Any rational person knows this was a humiliating failure.

任何理智的人都知道这是一次耻辱性的失败。

And the honorable thing, the honorable thing to have done was to admit you didn't measure up and tender your resignation.

而光荣的事，现在能做的光荣的事就是承认自己不合格并递交辞呈。

But instead, like clockwork, Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman Mark Milley were desperately⁶ trying to hang on to their jobs by mouthing whatever would please Biden's political team.

但与此相反，国务卿劳埃德·奥斯汀和主席马克·米莱拼命地想保住自己的职位，他们极其周密地说着任何能让拜登政治团队满意的话。

We have just concluded the largest air evacuation of civilians⁷ in American history.

我们刚刚结束了美国历史上规模最大的平民空中撤离行动。

It was heroic. It was historic.

这是英勇的。这是历史性的。

And I hope that all Americans will unite to thank our service members for their courage and their compassion⁸.

我希望所有美国人一起感谢我们的军人，感谢他们的勇气和同情心。

Their talent, their efforts have carried this fight, day and night.

他们用才华和努力夜以继日地支撑着这场战斗。

I am certain of for any soldier, sailor, airman and marine⁹ and their family, your service mattered.

我敢肯定，所有士兵、海员、空军和海军成员以及他们的家属，你们的服役都非常重要。

And it was not in vain.

并且这不是徒劳。

Well, instead of giving us a detailed¹⁰ military analysis of what occurred, they regurgitated the same pablum that the White House comms team has been giving us for days.

好吧，他们没有给我们一份关于所发生之事的详细的军事分析，而是重复了白宫通讯团队几天来一直跟我们说的那些废话。

As if anyone, anyone ever doubted the heroism¹¹ of our troops, far from it.

好像有人怀疑过我们军队的英雄主义似的，远非如此。

So how odious¹² to use the bravery of America's servicemen as a shield against blame and accountability for themselves.

因此，用美国军人的勇敢作挡箭牌来逃避指责和责任是多么令人厌恶。

For them, it's never the right time to level with the American people.

对他们来说，从来没有合适的时机向美国人民说实话。

1 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

2 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。

3 squander   

v.浪费，挥霍

参考例句：

• Don't squander your time in reading those dime novels.不要把你的时间浪费在读那些胡编乱造的廉价小说上。
• Every chance is precious，so don't squander any chance away!每次机会都很宝贵，所以不要将任何一个白白放走。

4 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

5 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

8 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

9 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。

10 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

11 heroism   

n.大无畏精神，英勇

参考例句：

• He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
• Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

12 odious   

adj.可憎的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。
• His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。