VOA标准英语2010-President Obama Calls Nuclear Security Su

President Barack Obama at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, 13 Apr 2010

President Barack Obama says the nuclear security summit in Washington earlier this week represented a "day of great progress" and part of a larger effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons. But some nuclear security experts say more attention should have been paid to the threat that terrorists pose to the mounting nuclear stockpiles in India and Pakistan. 

President Obama met with the leaders of India and Pakistan one day ahead of the summit that focused on how to keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists.

Later at the summit he called for better nuclear security programs.

"I feel confident about Pakistan's security around its nuclear weapons programs," said President Obama. "But that doesn't mean that there isn't improvement to make in all of our nuclear security programs."

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said his country still has concerns about the potential proliferation of nuclear arms in  Pakistan.

"We have been voicing our concerns with regard to the proliferation, the clandestine¹ activities of trafficking," said Prime Minister Singh.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani says his country's nuclear weapons are well-guarded. But Pakistan has had a tarnished² reputation since scientist A.Q. Khan's sale in 2004 of nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya, and North Korea.  And a new study at Harvard University finds that Pakistan's small but growing stockpile is the world's least secure from theft or attack.

Arif Rafiq is a long time observer of the Pakistani scene:

"The perception of the nuclear proliferation that began in the 1990s and continued into the early 2000's still exists," said Arif Rafiq. "Pakistan's nuclear weapons are a source of concern for governments across the world because of the instability there and also because of the history of proliferation."

Some experts say the risk is made worse due to the continued development of nuclear materials, and the increase of terrorist activities in South Asia.

Marvin Weinbaum is an analyst³ at the Middle East Institute:

"Our concern here is that if Pakistan becomes destabilized, if the military reflects this destabilization, that this would present the greatest threat," said Marvin Weinbaum. "There is always a possibility of rogue⁴ elements and this is also a matter of some concern as well."

Weinbaum says India and Pakistan could have gotten more attention at the summit, but that would have changed the main focus of the meeting.

"[They] would have served as a distraction⁵ from what is the main purpose and that is to build a coalition⁶ of forces to act in unity⁷ in trying to prevent Iran from moving further in its nuclear program," he said.

Experts say at a time when the Obama administration is trying to improve relations with both South Asian countries, it would have been a difficult balancing act to discuss the U.S. concerns about their mounting nuclear stockpiles . They say it might be the main focus at the next summit in two years.

 

1 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

2 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

3 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。

4 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

5 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。