美国国家公共电台 NPR Is Trump The Toughest Ever On Russia?

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

President Trump¹ has invited Russia's President Vladimir Putin to come to Washington this fall to continue the talks they started in Helsinki this week. It's another sign of Trump's efforts to build closer ties with Moscow, even though he insists his administration has taken a hard line toward Russia.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: There's never been a president as tough on Russia as I have been.

KING: NPR's Scott Horsley reports on the administration's track record in dealing² with Russia and how it sometimes conflicts with the president's own rhetoric³.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁴: Trump's claim that he's the toughest president ever when it comes to Russia sounds like hyperbole, but in this case, there's actually some basis for the president's boast. Daniel Vajdich of the Atlantic Council says when it comes to dealing with Moscow, Trump is light years away from his predecessor⁵, Barack Obama.

DANIEL VAJDICH: When you actually look at the substance of what this administration has done, not the rhetoric but the substance, this administration has been much tougher on Russia than any in the post-Cold War era.

HORSLEY: Take military spending. Vajdich notes Trump sought to add $1.4 billion this year to the European Reassurance⁶ Initiative, a military effort to deter⁷ Russian aggression⁸. That's a 41 percent increase from the last year of the Obama administration. The president also agreed to send lethal⁹ weapons to Ukraine, a step that Obama resisted. And Trump gave U.S. forces in Syria more leeway to engage with Russian troops.

VAJDICH: Those loosened rules of engagement have resulted in direct military clashes with Russian militants¹⁰ and mercenaries on the ground, actually resulting in one incident in hundreds of casualties on the Russian side.

HORSLEY: The administration has also imposed sanctions on dozens of Russian oligarchs and government officials. And Trump has aggressively promoted U.S. energy exports. Although Ed Chow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says, so far, that hasn't created much competition for Russia's oil and gas.

ED CHOW: Russian gas sales to Europe last year were at record levels. Russians will always have a cost advantage. And if they want to protect market share, all they have to do is to lower the price.

HORSLEY: And whatever tough policies the White House may have adopted towards Moscow have to be weighed against Trump's rhetoric, which is consistently friendly to Putin. For example, Trump suggested inviting¹¹ Russia to rejoin the G-7, a seat Moscow lost after its illegal annexation¹² of Crimea.

RICHARD FONTAINE: There's a real disconnect between the president's words and the underlying¹³ policy.

HORSLEY: Richard Fontaine is president of the Center for a New American Security. While Trump has no qualms¹⁴ about criticizing leaders of allied¹⁵ countries like Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau or Theresa May, Fontaine says the president almost always treats Putin with kid gloves.

FONTAINE: The president very rarely speaks about Putin's transgressions¹⁶, and when asked about him, often expresses the hope that everyone can get along.

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TRUMP: If we could develop a relationship which is good for Russia, good for us, good for everybody, that would be great.

HORSLEY: This is Trump last week during a news conference with U.K. Prime Minister May. He recalled how they asked him earlier this year to expel Russian intelligence agents to punish Moscow for the suspected poisoning of an ex-spy.

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TRUMP: We expelled - how many people? - 60, and Germany did three.

HORSLEY: The Washington Post says Trump was irritated that the U.S. seemed to be taking stronger actions against Moscow than the Europeans were. The president also reportedly was reluctant to send those lethal weapons to Ukraine, arguing again that Europe should take the lead. However grudging¹⁷ Trump's moves against Moscow might have been, though, his defenders¹⁸ say the actions speak for themselves. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

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 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

4 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。

5 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

6 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

7 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

8 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

9 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

10 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。

11 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

12 annexation   

n.吞并，合并

参考例句：

• He mentioned the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910 .他提及1910年日本对朝鲜的吞并。
• I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusively to the United States and Texas.我认为合并的问题，完全属于德克萨斯和美国之间的事。

13 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

14 qualms   

n.不安；内疚

参考例句：

• He felt no qualms about borrowing money from friends.他没有对于从朋友那里借钱感到不安。
• He has no qualms about lying.他撒谎毫不内疚。

15 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

16 transgressions   

n.违反，违法，罪过( transgression的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many marine transgressions occur across coastal plains. 许多海运是横越滨海平原。 来自辞典例句
• For I know my transgressions, and my sin always before me. 因为我知道我的过犯，我的罪常在我面前。 来自互联网

17 grudging   

adj.勉强的，吝啬的

参考例句：

• He felt a grudging respect for her talents as an organizer.他勉强地对她的组织才能表示尊重。
• After a pause he added"sir."in a dilatory,grudging way.停了一会他才慢吞吞地、勉勉强强地加了一声“先生”。

18 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》