VOA慢速英语2010年-IN THE NEWS - Obama Security Policy St

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, the Obama administration released its first National Security Strategy. The policy statement renews support for American military superiority in the world. But the fifty-two pages also talk about the importance of diplomacy¹, development and coalition-building to reach policy goals.

The Obama administration has sought to distance itself from the disputed policies of George W. Bush. The former president's policy on the right to attack possible threats came after the terrorist attacks in two thousand one.

Under a nineteen eighty-six law, presidents are supposed to report their national security goals to Congress each year. That has not happened. But the Obama administration has made its general goals known for some time.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls it "smart power." She discussed the new strategy report in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington. She said the United States is moving from mostly the direct exercise of power to what she called "a more sophisticated and difficult mix of indirect power and influence."

Hillary Clinton arrives with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myun-hwan for a meeting on North Korea Wednesday in Seoul

She said the military itself, examining its experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, has come to recognize the limits of the use of force.

HILLARY CLINTON: "We cannot have a militarized model of diplomacy and development and expect to be successful in making our case on all these other issues that we engage with governments on."

The policy statement also discusses the link between the economic health of the United States and its position in the world. Secretary Clinton said current levels of debt and deficits² cannot continue without the United States losing influence and being limited in the decisions it has to make.

The strategy says the United States aims to disrupt, dismantle³ and defeat al-Qaida, but also to support democracy and human rights. It says the United States "is waging a global campaign" but adds "this is not a global war against a tactic⁴ — terrorism or a religion — Islam."

Presidential adviser⁵ John Brennan says a top goal will be to fight the rise of "home-grown" terrorism.

But terrorism is not the only national security concern. The strategy also deals with issues like North Korea.

This week, tensions continued to rise over the sinking of a South Korean navy ship in March. International investigators⁶ have blamed a North Korean submarine for the attack. Forty-six sailors died on the Cheonan. North Korea denies any involvement.

The sinking has led the two Koreas to cut most of their trade and communications links. The situation raised fears that the peninsula could be headed toward a return of the warfare⁷ of the early nineteen fifties.

Secretary of State Clinton, in Seoul earlier this week at the end of a trip to Asia, said the world has a duty to act over the sinking. South Korea and the United States have been urging China to join them in punishing North Korea in the United Nations Security Council.

And that’s IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake with David Gollust in Washington and Steve Herman in Seoul. I’m Doug Johnson.
 

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 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

3 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

4 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

5 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。

6 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》

7 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。