美国国家公共电台 NPR Patient Diplomacy And A Reluctance To Act: Obama's Mark On Foreign Policy

Patient Diplomacy¹ And A Reluctance² To Act: Obama's Mark On Foreign Policy 

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0005:32repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser³ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: 

Now, the attacks on New York took place just before the annual meeting of the United Nations there. And today, the assembled world leaders hear from their host. President Obama has defined U.S. foreign policy for almost eight years now, both by what he's done and what he chose not to do. His legacy⁴ ranges from an international climate deal to the Syrian civil war. Now, Obama addresses the U.N. General Assembly one more time. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁵: Aides say President Obama has used his annual meetings at the General Assembly to deal with international crises of the moment and to pursue an agenda for U.S. engagement with the rest of the world. There are crises aplenty this year, including the ongoing⁶ terror threat posed by ISIS and nuclear saber-rattling from North Korea. But Derek Chollet, who served under Obama at both the State Department and the Pentagon, argues the U.S. is better positioned to deal with such challenges thanks to Obama's patient engagement throughout his time in office.

DEREK CHOLLET: I contend that by almost every measurement we are better off today than we were eight years ago. That's not to discount the turmoil⁷ in the world. But the question is what the U.S. can do about it.

HORSLEY: Chollet argues the U.S. has done a lot under Obama, such as brokering⁸ the Iran nuclear deal, combating the Ebola virus in West Africa and restoring diplomatic ties with Cuba. But Obama's legacy is also defined by areas where he's resisted action. The president famously summarizes his cautious approach as don't do stupid stuff and Chollet, who's now defense⁹ and security adviser¹⁰ at The German Marshall Fund think tank, says that takes discipline when even some of the president's own advisers¹¹ are clamoring for more action.

CHOLLET: He is willing to buck¹² the trend - what sometimes passes for the conventional wisdom - in service of what a long-term strategy is, and that's of course what successful presidents have to do.

HORSLEY: The most glaring example is Syria where Obama initially¹⁴ resisted calls to arm the rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad and later backed down from his own threat to retaliate¹⁵ for Assad's use of chemical weapons. Obama has used drone strikes and special forces aggressively to target suspected terrorist overseas, including Osama bin¹⁶ Laden¹⁷. But he's been wary¹⁸ of large scale military involvement. That's partly a reaction to what he sees as the mistakes of the George W. Bush administration. But editor David Rothkopf of Foreign Policy magazine worries Obama has over learned that lesson.

DAVID ROTHKOPF: I think the president viewed his mandate¹⁹ as getting us out of Iraq and getting us out of Afghanistan and not getting us into any more wars. What we have seen is if you get out too fast, that creates a void, which contributed to the rise of ISIS. If you don't get in, we have seen some others who have opportunistically gotten involved and made the situation worse.

HORSLEY: Conservative critics go further, saying Obama's reluctance to engage militarily against adversaries²⁰ like Assad has emboldened²¹ other leaders, like Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping. Here's former Vice¹³ President Dick Cheney speaking last year on CNN.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DICK CHENEY: We got the Chinese on the march in Southeast Asia. We've got Russia on the march in Europe. We've got ISIS and the caliphate established now in the Middle East. We think the threats against the United States are as great as any time since the end of World War II.

HORSLEY: Obama's defenders²² are not persuaded that a more aggressive U.S. posture²³ in Syria would have made the situation there any better. What it would have done, they argue, is sap the energy from every other piece of the president's foreign policy agenda. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes made that case on "The Axe²⁴ File" podcast.

(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "THE AXE FILES")

BEN RHODES: What the president has done is he has refused to allow his presidency²⁵ to be dragged into the quicksand of the Middle East. And in doing so, he's found enormous opportunities that are going to transform the standing²⁶ of the United States in the world.

HORSLEY: Supporters point to the Paris climate agreement, which Obama spearheaded in partnership²⁷ with China's Xi. And they say the administration's diplomatic opening to Cuba has paved the way for improved relations throughout the Western Hemisphere. One of the president's top foreign policy priorities has been the effort to raise America's profile in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region. But a central piece of that effort, a 12-nation trade deal, could be jeopardized²⁸ by political opposition²⁹ here at home. The White House warns if Congress fails to pass the trade deal, U.S. credibility in Asia would suffer a serious blow. Obama told reporters last week, he's not giving up.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: The reason that I'm pushing this so hard is because I know and other countries know and China know that if we get this done, advantage America. And if we don't, then we're going to be disadvantaged for a long time to come.

HORSLEY: Because much of the president's foreign policy is crafted with an eye on the long term, it doesn't necessarily lend itself to scorekeeping at a convenient eight-year interval³⁰. But Chollet, the former administration official, thinks historians will view this president more favorably than many foreign policy observers do today.

CHOLLET: Often it takes historical hindsight to appreciate the avoidance of mistakes. And, you know, President Obama certainly has made some mistakes, but I think he's avoided a lot.

HORSLEY: Even as he's tried to focus on the long term, though, Obama's been repeatedly tripped up by crises of the moment. And some, like the Syrian civil war, now in its sixth year, turn out to have lasting³¹ consequences of their own. Scott Horsley, NPR News.

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

3 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 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。

7 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

8 brokering   

v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的现在分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• Intertwined with these were rivalry, power brokering, and patronage. 然而也不乏有抗争、强权操纵与任命特权交织其中。 来自互联网
• Kingston Quest Can Assist Your Company In Negotiations, Brokering, Agency Services, Sourcing Factories Or Property. 金士顿追求，可帮助您的公司在谈判中，经纪，代理服务，货源工厂或财产。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 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。

11 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

12 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

13 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

14 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

15 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

16 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

17 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

18 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

19 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

20 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

21 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》

22 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

24 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

25 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

26 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

27 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

28 jeopardized   

危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The soldier jeopardized his life to save his comrade. 这个士兵冒生命的危险救他的同志。
• The occasional failed project or neglected opportunity does not jeopardized overall progress. 偶然失败的项目或失误的机会并没有影响总的进展。

29 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

30 interval   

n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息

参考例句：

• The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
• There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

31 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。