布什政府轻视联合国种族大会招致抨击

 

US Snub of Racism¹ Conference Sparks Criticism of Bush Administration

Jim Malone

Washington

1 Sep 2001 

 

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's decision not to attend the international racism conference in South Africa has sparked renewed criticism of the Bush Administration and what is 1)perceived as a "go-it-alone" approach to international issues.

Bush Administration critics say Secretary of State Powell's decision to skip the U.N. conference in Durban is the latest example of an administration bent² on pursuing a 3)solitary course in international relations.

The French foreign minister this week 4)condemned what he called "high-handed American unilateralism." A recent 5)editorial in The Guardian³ newspaper in London accused the Bush Administration of what it called "6)reckless, 7)unilateralist behavior" on arms control and environmental issues.

Criticism of President Bush began to mount in March with his decision to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol⁴ on global warming. It 8)intensified with the announcement that the United States was abandoning a United Nations draft accord on enforcement of a treaty limiting 9)biological warfare⁶.

In recent weeks, Democratic congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, have also 10)focused on what they regard as a dangerous unilateralist approach. "Instead of 11)asserting our leadership, we are 12)abdicating it," he says. "Instead of shaping international agreements to serve our interests, we have removed ourselves from a position to shape them at all."

President Bush rejects the notion that the United States has adopted an across the board go-it-alone 13)strategy and says he will gladly support international treaties that are in the U.S. interest. "We have put our foreign policy on sound footing," he says. "We are strengthening our relationships with our allies and moving to build a world that trades more freely."

The criticism has some political 14)analysts⁷ concerned about the president's international image.

Martin Schram is a commentator⁸ with the Scripps-Howard News Service and a regular guest on VOA's Issues in the News Program. "[It is] probably good 15)domestic politics but I don't believe that is going to be seen as being good world leadership," he says. "The problem for him may be down the road, if push comes to shove, and people look at what is America's role as a world leader, and that is what I think the concern really ought to be. Because a world leader has to lead, and you don't lead by just walking away from a treaty."

But many others are speaking out in defense⁹ of the president, saying his first responsibility is to act in the interests of the United States.

Ted⁵ Carpenter monitors international and defense issues for the Cato Institute, a public policy research organization here in Washington.

He says there is a strong case to be made for the United States objecting to both the Kyoto treaty and the U.N. draft accord on biological weapons. "For instance, the Biological Weapons Convention Protocol is 16)fundamentally flawed," he says. "Not only would it fail to include most of the countries that would be the most likely 17)candidates to develop and use biological weapons, the intrusive¹⁰ inspection¹¹ 18)provisions are virtually a 19)blueprint for commercial or industrial 20)espionage against America's bio-tech industry where America is light years ahead of most competitors."

Analysts also point out that the political 21)fallout of the president's decisions on international treaties is playing out differently at home than it is abroad.

Stuart Rothenberg is publisher of a political newsletter here in Washington. He says in some ways the president may actually be benefiting at home from the criticism being leveled at him from abroad. "The president is on pretty firm ground because the Europeans just have a very different view of where they want society and politics to go," he says. "But at the moment, I think particularly the Europeans have gone out of their way to mock the president so openly that it really invites Americans to defend their chief executive."

The administration's next challenge on international cooperation may come in mid-September when a special United Nations General Assembly 22)session on children convenes¹² in New York. A State Department spokesman said this week that U.S. officials expect to take part in the session despite concerns that the final declaration may express support for 23)abortion¹³ counseling services.

Because of the president's opposition¹⁴ to abortion, the administration has cut off U.S. aid to international family planning agencies that provide abortion services.

Analysts view the special U.N. session as a test of whether the administration is willing to work with international leaders or prefers to go it alone, risking further criticism from abroad.

 

 

(1)      perceive[pE5si:v]vt.察觉v.感知, 感到, 认识到

(2)      resonate[5rezEneIt]v.(使)共鸣, (使)共振

(3)      solitary[5sRlItErI; (?@) -terI]adj.孤独的

(4)      condemn[kEn5dem]vt.处刑, 声讨, 谴责

(5)      editorial[edI5tC:rIEl]n.社论adj.编辑上的, 主笔的, 社论的

(6)      reckless[5reklIs]adj.不计后果的

(7)      unilateralist[ 9jU:nI`lAtErElIst]adj.主张片面限武论者

(8)      intensify[In5tensIfaI]vt.加强vi.强化

(9)      biological warfare n.生物战, 细菌战

(10)      focus on 集中

(11)      assert[E5s:t]v.断言, 声称

(12)      abdicate[ 5AbdIkeIt]v.退位, 放弃(职位,权力等)

(13)      strategy[5strAtIdVI]n.策略, 军略

(14)      analyst[5AnElIst]n.分析家, 分解者

(15)      domestic[dE5mestIk]adj.家庭的, 国内的, 与人共处的

(16)      fundamentally[fQndE5mentElI]adv.基础地, 根本地

(17)      candidate[5kAndIdEt; (?@) 5kAndIdeIt]n.候选人, 投考者

(18)      provision[prE5vIV(E)n]n.供应, 预备, 防备, 规定

(19)      blueprint[5blu:prInt]n.蓝图, 设计图, 计划vt.制成蓝图, 计划

(20)      espionage[5espIEnB:V]n.间谍, 侦探

(21)      fallout[5fC:laJt]n.辐射微尘, 原子尘, 附带结果

(22)      session[5seF(E)n]n.会议, 开庭

(23)      abortion[E5bC:F(E)n]n.流产, 堕胎, 失败, 早产

 

 

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 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。

3 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

4 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

5 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

6 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。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

9 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。

10 intrusive   

adj.打搅的；侵扰的

参考例句：

• The cameras were not an intrusive presence.那些摄像机的存在并不令人反感。
• Staffs are courteous but never intrusive.员工谦恭有礼却从不让人感到唐突。

11 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

12 convenes   

召开( convene的第三人称单数 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The Premier convenes and presides over the executive meetings and plenary meetings of the State Council. 总理召集和主持国务院常务会议和国务院全体会议。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法
• Chinese woman tenth the National People Congress convenes grandly today in Beijing. 中国妇女第十次全国代表大会今天在北京隆重召开。

13 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。