2006年VOA标准英语-Does 'Axis of Evil' Have Practical Effect on In

By Gary Thomas
Washington
16 October 2006

 
A Japanese woman reads an extra special edition newspaper reporting about North Korea's nuclear test, distributed in downtown Tokyo, October 9, 2006
North Korea, which recently conducted an underground nuclear test, and Iran, which is accused of harboring nuclear weapons ambitions are the remaining governments in what President Bush once labeled the "axis¹ of evil."  What practical effect did that designation have on the international landscape?

In January 2002, President Bush stepped before Congress to utter what some consider the most memorable², and, some would argue, among the most controversial words of his presidency³.

"North Korea is a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens," Mr. Bush says. "Iran aggressively pursues these weapons, and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian peoples' hope for freedom.  Iraq continues to flaunt⁴ its hostility⁵ towards America and support terror.  States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world."

The "axis of evil" phrase was interpreted in many quarters as a call for "regime change" in Iraq, Iran and North Korea.  Some analysts⁷ say the presidential rhetoric⁸, coupled with the 2003 invasion of Iraq and ouster of Saddam Hussein, fueled, rather than deterred⁹ the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.

Ken¹⁰ Katzman, a Middle East policy analyst⁶ at the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, says the reverberations from that phrase have been enormous.

 
US Army soldier near Baghdad
"What goes through my mind is the degree to which the so-called 'axis of evil' has come back to haunt the United States," Katzman says. "The so-called 'axis of evil' is looming¹¹ larger than it did when that speech was given.  And, maybe, part of it is because some of these states, particularly Iran and North Korea, felt that, if they're going to be designated part of an 'axis of evil,' that may reflect an aggressive U.S. intention, and, maybe, we (they) need to speed up our programs."

North Korea's nuclear program was already well advanced, and Pyongyang had bragged¹² about having a nuclear weapons capability¹³.  James Lilley, former U.S. ambassador to China and South Korea, says the "axis of evil" designation and the invasion of Iraq changed nothing, and just gave North Korea a pretext¹⁴.

"It gave the North Koreans a cause to say that the Americans invaded Iraq, 'therefore, they will invade us, therefore we need the nukes.'  I can't comment on Iran," Lilley says. "But, I will say, the North Koreans have used this relentlessly¹⁵, pounded it home, 'axis of evil, axis of evil, axis of evil.  You called us a dirty name.  You have insulted the pride of the great North Korean people.  It's on your back, America.  If you had not have done this, maybe we would not have blown off the nukes.' Come on.  They've been trying to build these nukes for about 30 years."

James Dobbins, head of the RAND Corporation's International Security and Defense¹⁶ Policy Center, agrees that North Korea was emboldened¹⁷ by U.S. rhetoric and action.  But, he adds, that Iran was at first more cautious, then speeded up its efforts and toughened its negotiating stance.

"In the North Korean case, it clearly didn't slow them down," Dobbins says. "It simply either reconfirmed them in their course of action, or led them to accelerate their efforts.  In the Iranian case, I think that it probably initially¹⁸ made them more cautious when it appeared that we might succeed in establishing a democratic and pro-Western Iraq.  And, then, when it was clear that we were not going to succeed, it emboldened them."

 
 
Iran continues to deny it wants nuclear arms, saying it only seeks peaceful nuclear energy.  But the United States and other U.N. Security Council members seek to impose sanctions on Iran for what they believe are Tehran's nuclear weapons ambitions.

John Calabrese, an analyst at the Middle East Institute and professor at American University, says the current situation in Iraq has had almost inherently conflicting effects in Iran and North Korea and on their nuclear programs.

"It's almost contradictory¹⁹.  On the one hand, the situation in Iraq has contributed to the acceleration²⁰ of those programs," Calabrese says. "On the other hand, what it's done is contributed to the mistrust, or pre-existing mistrust, between the United States and those two regimes.  I think it's going to be very difficult for the Bush administration to persuade either government that it's truly abandoned the regime change option, even at the same time when the United States seems to have lost the military capacity, at least, to produce those regime changes."

The United States has refused to hold direct bilateral²¹ talks with either North Korea or Iran on their nuclear programs, because, analysts say, it believes that sitting down at the same table would confer some kind of legitimacy²² on the regimes in Tehran and Pyongyang.

1 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

2 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

3 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 flaunt   

vt.夸耀，夸饰

参考例句：

• His behavior was an outrageous flaunt.他的行为是一种无耻的炫耀。
• Why would you flaunt that on a public forum?为什么你们会在公共论坛大肆炫耀？

5 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

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 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。

9 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

10 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

11 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

12 bragged   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He bragged to his friends about the crime. 他向朋友炫耀他的罪行。
• Mary bragged that she could run faster than Jack. 玛丽夸口说她比杰克跑得快。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

14 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

15 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

16 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。

17 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

19 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

20 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

21 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

22 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。