美国国家公共电台 NPR Often Quiet On Wars, Congress Challenges White House Over Yemen

Often Quiet On Wars, Congress Challenges White House Over Yemen

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Something very rare is stirring in Congress. There's growing sentiment to force the president to end U.S. involvement in a war - in this case, the war in Yemen. Congress gave itself the power to do this decades ago. But as NPR's Greg Myre reports, lawmakers have never really used it.

GREG MYRE, BYLINE¹: President Trump² says the U.S. is engaged in at least seven separate military conflicts. In most cases, presidents launch those U.S. military actions without explicit³ approval by Congress. Ro Khanna is a Democratic congressman⁴ from California.

RO KHANNA: Congress has been silent while the executive branch continues to exert its power.

MYRE: But the mood in Congress is changing, at least when it comes to Yemen. The killing⁵ of a Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi set off a chain of events that's led Congress to become much more vocal⁶ in opposing U.S. military aid to Saudi Arabia, which is fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen.

KHANNA: There's certainly no authorization⁷ for helping⁸ the Saudis in the civil war against the Houthis.

MYRE: Khanna's pushing a measure that would block this U.S. military support. The Senate is weighing a similar move. Both are based on the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which says Congress can order a president to withdraw troops within 90 days. Yet, Congress has never forced a president to actually do this.

SCOTT ANDERSON: It's often a tool that's more used in political negotiations⁹ between Congress and the president and that are often resolved through kind of political mechanisms¹⁰.

MYRE: Scott Anderson is with the Brookings Institution and the "Lawfare" blog. The Constitution says only Congress can declare war. But presidents have learned how to bypass lawmakers.

ANDERSON: For limited military engagements, that can often create a lot of space by which the president can act without even really having to deal with Congress.

MYRE: That's what happened in Yemen. Three years ago, President Barack Obama approved U.S. aid to help the Saudis with their bombing campaign against the Houthis, who had taken over key parts of Yemen including the capital.

GREGORY JOHNSEN: The U.S. began doing a number of things.

MYRE: Gregory Johnsen was part of the United Nations panel of experts on Yemen until earlier this year.

JOHNSEN: They provided refueling to the Saudi-led coalition¹¹, and they also provided intelligence. The Saudis would bring a list of targets that they wanted to hit, and the U.S. would say, well, we think these actually are not military targets.

MYRE: The war is widely seen as a stalemate. Civilian¹² casualties have been high. Millions in Yemen are at risk of starvation. Even key Senate Republicans, like South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, are now speaking out.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LINDSEY GRAHAM: I cannot support arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The war in Yemen has gotten out of control.

MYRE: Scott Anderson says the White House is already resisting attempts to constrain¹³ its actions.

ANDERSON: Essentially¹⁴ what the Trump administration has argued is that what the United States is doing in Yemen doesn't qualify as hostilities¹⁵. They are saying, we're providing intelligence and support. We are providing arms and training and advice and intelligence information. But we are not directly participating in hostilities.

MYRE: President Trump says little about the war but remains¹⁶ strongly supportive of the Saudis. Congressman Ro Khanna says the U.S. military should continue to pursue al-Qaida and Islamic State militants¹⁷ in Yemen. But he thinks support for the Saudis is counterproductive. And Congress has the right to stop it.

KHANNA: The founders¹⁸ wanted Congress to be influencing matters of war and peace. Congress they thought would be less likely to go to war. And Congress is directly accountable to citizens who are going to bear the costs of war.

MYRE: The last time Congress declared war was 77 years ago, the day after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Greg Myre, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF MONUMENT TO MASSES' "SIXTH TRUMPET")

1 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。

2 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。

3 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

7 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

12 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

13 constrain   

vt.限制，约束；克制，抑制

参考例句：

• She tried to constrain herself from a cough in class.上课时她竭力忍住不咳嗽。
• The study will examine the factors which constrain local economic growth.这项研究将考查抑制当地经济发展的因素。

14 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

15 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

18 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句