VOA慢速英语2015 奥巴马与美国国会将在外交政策上起冲突

 

AS IT IS 2015-01-05 Obama, Congress Expected to Clash over Foreign Policy

Some of President Barack Obama’s loudest critics will have more power in 2015. They will take leadership positions in the United States Senate when the Republican Party takes control of Congress in January. Republicans already control the House of Representatives.

Senate Republicans are often critical of U.S. foreign policy under President Obama. The president’s policies will be examined even more closely when the new Congress takes office.

Republican lawmakers are often quick to criticize President Obama on issues from Ukraine to the Middle East. Senator Bob Corker is a Republican from Tennessee.

“I have no earthly idea how the administration plans to go about degrading and destroying ISIS in Syria. (I) have no earthly idea.”

Senator John McCain has also been critical of the Obama administration.

“This president does not understand (Russian President) Vladimir Putin. He does not understand his ambitions, he does not understand that Vladimir Putin is an old KGB colonel bent¹ on restoration of the Russian Empire.”

In January, Mr. Corker will become chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Mr. McCain will lead the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Stuart Rothenburg studies U.S. politics.  

“John McCain rarely pulls punches. And, he's quite sure of what needs to be done, and that the president isn't doing it.”

Mr. Rothenberg says Congress can have an effect on a president’s dealings with other countries.

“They can limit what the president can do on not only on domestic spending, but spending internationally -- national security, armed forces and things like that. Having said that, yeah, this is the one area where the president traditionally has considerable freedom to operate.”

William Howell is a political scientist at the University of Chicago. He says Republican-led congressional committees are sure to question President Obama’s decisions during his last two years in office.

“Politically, they have powerful incentives³ to underscore what they perceived to be the failings of the Obama administration in foreign policy. What they can do is they can set the terms of the discussion that are going to ensue. They can say we're gonna have investigations⁴.”

Senator McCain recently showed what administration officials may have to deal with next year. He recently questioned Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense⁵ Elissa Slotkin at a hearing about Islamic State militants⁶.

“I’m asking what the strategy is.”

“Our strategy is to defeat ISIL, to…”

“I just repeated, that’s a goal, not a strategy. I want to know what the strategy is.”

President Obama has also been criticized by lawmakers from his own party. Democratic Senator Robert Menendez does not agree with the administration’s policy toward nuclear negotiations⁷ with Iran.

“Right now, we are playing right into the Iranian narratives⁹.”

Thomas Pickering is a former U.S. ambassador.

“Polarization is deep in the American Congress now.”

Ambassador Pickering knows the Senators who will chair committees next year. He believes they will do what is right for the country.

“My own sense is that both Senator McCain and Senator Corker have shown strong periods of serious responsibility for the national interest.”

The foreign policy fights could begin as soon as Congress meets in January. Senator Corker says lawmakers want to take stronger economic and diplomatic actions against Iran if nuclear negotiations fail. 

Words in This Story

degrade – v. to make the quality of (something) worse

bent on – idiom having a strong desire to do (something)

restoration – n. re-establishment

pull punches – idiom to express criticism in a mild or kind way; usually used in negative statements

incentive² – n. something that encourages a person to do something or to work harder

perceived – adj. something that is thought of

set the terms of – idiom to define the limits; to determine what will be discussed

ensue – v. to come at a later time; to happen as a result

playing right into – idiom to help someone without realizing it

narrative⁸ – n. a story that is told or written; the expression of beliefs

polarization/polarize – v. to cause (people or opinions) to separate into opposing groups

deep – adj. going far down; a long way from top to bottom

1 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

2 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

3 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

9 narratives   

记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分

参考例句：

• Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning. 结婚一向是许多小说的终点，然而也是一个伟大的开始。
• This is one of the narratives that children are fond of. 这是孩子们喜欢的故事之一。