PBS高端访谈:美国向卡塔尔出售武器 使海湾争端复杂化

 　　This week, the Trump¹ administration signed a $12 billion deal to sell the Persian Gulf² nation of Qatar three dozen F-15 fighter jets made by Boeing.

　　The deal comes a week after President Trump labeled Qatar a funder of terrorism in the Middle East.

　　For that reason, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Arab nations have severed³ diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed an economic boycott⁴.

　　Yet, Qatar has also been a key U.S. ally, with the largest U.S. military base in the region, hosting 10,000 troops.

　　For more, I'm joined from Washington by "Wall Street Journal" reporter Jay Solomon.

　　Jay, I'm a little confused by my own comments here. Are they, on the one hand, funder of terrorism at the highest levels, as the president said, or are we selling them fighter jets?

　　I mean, it's a very complicated situation for sure. You have the Al Udeid Airbase,

　　which is the main staging ground for U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

　　You have huge Exxon business interests in Qatar. You've had a lot of counterterrorism cooperation.

　　But at the same time, there has been concern going back years that there is money coming from Qatar that has reached al Qaeda elements,

　　that since the Arab spring, they've supported factions⁵ that are aligned⁶ with al Qaeda elements.

　　And even back to the Bush administration, a lot of concern that al Jazeera, its main source of soft power,

　　stirs up anti-American sentiment at times, or stirs up sentiment against Qatar's neighbors in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. So, it's very much a conflicted picture.

　　So, this week, it seems those conversations have moved to Washington, D.C., the sides are lobbying.

　　It's amazing. Every one of these governments — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar — have flooded the zone, as some say, into Washington to meet Secretary Tillerson, Secretary Mattis, meet press.

　　And these countries have so much influence in Washington through investments and think tanks, through lobbying firms,

　　just through their business and defense⁷ contracts that it's — it's a very much a conflict that's playing out here, as much as it is in the Gulf.

　　And each side has real equities⁸ that they bring, and I think that's part of the reason you've seen such mixed messages from the Trump administration.

　　And I also think they're here because they don't really know exactly what the Trump position is

　　because he's said things that on the surface appear at odds⁹ with his secretary of state, and his defense secretary.

　　So, the secretary of state has tried to kind of calm the temperature down. But then the president says what he says.

　　Secretary Tillerson has been working the phones aggressively over the past week and meeting with foreign ministers from these countries,

　　basically saying this economic siege that is being pushed on Qatar should be eased.

　　And that there's a concern that counter-ISIS operations that are run out of Al Udeid can be — could be impacted if this feud¹⁰ doesn't end.

　　So, he's very much pushed that line backed by Secretary Tillerson.

　　The problem is, president Trump, on his tweets and in public comments, has seemed to side with Saudi Arabia and want UAE against Qatar saying,

　　you know, this high-level support of terrorism that has been allegedly seen.

　　Has this break in the Gulf alliance created an opportunity for Iran?

　　Because we are reporting that they were one of the first people that sent food aide to Qatar. What's happening with that?

　　No, I think definitely, because President Trump when he went to Saudi Arabia has basically been trying to create this bloc¹¹ of Gulf Arab states against ISIS,

　　but also against Iran, and Iran's loving the fact that there's this feud. And a lot of these countries, whether it's Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE — I mean, they're pretty vulnerable to Iran.

　　And this hope of not just the Trump administration but the Obama administration, as well, that they could create a bloc against these six countries in that region against Iran,

　　these very visible fissures¹² play to Iran's advantage, that they are playing a very astute¹³ diplomatic game, because this plays into their hands.

　　All right. "Wall Street Journal's" Jay Solomon — thanks so much. Thank you. undefined

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 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

5 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

6 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

7 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。

8 equities   

普通股，股票

参考例句：

• These are invested mainly in the OECD bonds and equities. 这些资产主要投资于经济合作及发展组织的债券与股票市场。
• They are also advantage of the global rebound in equities. 它们还在利用全球股市反弹的机会。

9 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？

10 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

11 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

12 fissures   

n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Rising molten rock flows out on the ocean floor and caps the fissures, trapping the water. 上升熔岩流到海底并堵住了裂隙，结果把海水封在里面。 来自辞典例句
• The French have held two colloquia and an international symposium on rock fissures. 法国已经开了两次岩石裂缝方面的报告会和一个国际会议。 来自辞典例句

13 astute   

adj.机敏的，精明的

参考例句：

• A good leader must be an astute judge of ability.一个优秀的领导人必须善于识别人的能力。
• The criminal was very astute and well matched the detective in intelligence.这个罪犯非常狡猾，足以对付侦探的机智。