美国国家公共电台 NPR Michael Flynn's Contradictory Line On Russia

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The headlines this week about President Trump¹ and his firing of FBI Director James Comey included new details about Michael Flynn. He's Trump's former national security adviser². Flynn's contacts with Russia are a key part of the investigation³ into whether there was any collusion between that country and Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Here's the irony⁴ - Flynn often described Russia as an enemy. NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre has his complicated story.

GREG MYRE, BYLINE⁵: What does Michael Flynn think about Russia? His statements and actions are so contradictory⁶ they could induce whiplash. Here's what Flynn said about Russian President Vladimir Putin in the audiotape version of a book he released last July called "The Field Of Fight."

(SOUNDBITE OF AUDIO BOOK, "THE FIELD OF FIGHT")

MICHAEL FLYNN: There is no reason to believe Putin would welcome cooperation with us. Quite the contrary, in fact.

MYRE: Seems clear enough. Russia is an adversary⁷, be wary⁸ of Putin - a standard position in the national security community. But wait, Flynn was also busy making contacts with Russia. In December 2015, Flynn sat next to Putin in Moscow at a celebration for RT, the state-run TV network. Document show that Flynn, a retired⁹ three-star general, was paid $33,000. And this has prompted the Pentagon to look into the matter.

Shortly afterward¹⁰, in early 2016, Flynn began advising Trump. They seemed to be on the same page, both willing to explore the possibility of better relations with Moscow. But Flynn the Trump supporter seemed at odds¹¹ with Flynn the strategist. In his book, this is how he described recent Russian military moves.

(SOUNDBITE OF AUDIO BOOK, "THE FIELD OF FIGHT")

FLYNN: These are not the actions of a country seeking detente with the West. They are, rather, indications that Putin fully¹² intends to do the same thing as and in tandem¹³ with the Iranians - pursue the war against us.

MYRE: In Flynn's view, Russia, Iran and several other countries are part of a global alliance that seeks to undermine the U.S. Here's what he told NPR last August.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

FLYNN: And when we think about countries like Russia, countries like Cuba, countries like Venezuela, Iran, North Korea - I mean, these are - in many cases, these are criminal enterprises that have dictatorships and certainly tyrants¹⁴.

MYRE: However, he also said the U.S. and Russia could work together at times like fighting the Islamic State in Syria. He told the German magazine Der Spiegel, quote, "we have to work constructively¹⁵ with Russia. You can't say Russia is bad. They have to go home. It's not going to happen. Get real." Compare that with what he said in his book about Russia's role in Syria, where it supports President Bashar al-Assad.

(SOUNDBITE OF AUDIO BOOK, "THE FIELD OF FIGHT")

FLYNN: They are certainly not fighting terrorists in the Middle East. Theirs is a battle to rescue an embattled ally in Damascus.

MYRE: So what's behind these contradictions? Are they just confusing but perfectly¹⁶ legal or a sign of deception¹⁷? What's attracted the attention of investigators¹⁸ are Flynn's contacts with Russian officials?

Here's a quick recap. Reuters reported that Flynn was in touch with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, during the presidential campaign. These contacts picked up after the election when Flynn was named national security adviser. They met in New York at Trump Tower in early December. They reportedly spoke¹⁹ by phone on December 19. They texted on Christmas, spoke again on December 28 and 29.

Flynn told Vice²⁰ President Mike Pence they didn't discuss sanctions against Russia, but it turns out they did. Acting²¹ Attorney General Sally Yates warned the White House, as she explained to CNN.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SALLY YATES: I think that this was a serious compromise situation that the Russians had real leverage²². He also had lied to the vice president of the United States.

MYRE: Trump fired Flynn on February 13, and he's been lying low since then. But he's still in the headlines. As reported by NPR and others, then FBI Director James Comey wrote notes about a meeting with Trump on February 14 saying the president asked if he could let go of the Flynn investigation. The White House disputes this. The investigation continues. Greg Myre, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF LITTLE PEOPLE SONG, "MOON")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

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 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

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 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

7 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

8 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。

9 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。

10 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

11 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

12 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。

13 tandem   

n.同时发生；配合；adv.一个跟着一个地；纵排地；adj.（两匹马）前后纵列的

参考例句：

• Malcolm's contract will run in tandem with his existing one.马尔科姆的合同将与他手头的合同同时生效。
• He is working in tandem with officials of the Serious Fraud Office.他正配合欺诈重案办公室的官员工作。

14 tyrants   

专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a succession of tyrants. 这个国家接连遭受暴君的统治。
• The people suffered under foreign tyrants. 人民在异族暴君的统治下受苦受难。

15 constructively   

ad.有益的，积极的

参考例句：

• Collecting, by occupying spare time so constructively, makes a person contented, with no time for boredom. 如此富有意义地利用业余时间来进行收藏，会使人怡然自得，无暇烦恼。
• The HKSAR will continue to participate constructively in these activities. 香港会继续积极参与这些活动。

16 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

17 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

18 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 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。

20 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。

21 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

22 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。