VOA标准英语2010年-Obama, Cameron Discuss Afghanistan, BP

President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron hold a joint¹ news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, 20 Jul 2010.

U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron held wide-ranging talks at the White House on Tuesday, focusing on Afghanistan, British energy firm BP and the release earlier this year of a Libyan convicted in the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The two men seem to have deepened an already strong personal relationship.

Mr. Cameron is the second British prime minister President Obama has worked with, in an alliance that prior to Tuesday's meeting Mr. Cameron described as being based on national interests rather than historical ties or blind loyalty².

 

Nowhere is that alliance being tested more than in Afghanistan, where Britain has 9,000 troops in the international force fighting Taliban forces.

Although Mr. Cameron said last month that he would like to see all British forces leave Afghanistan by 2015, President Obama said they agree on strategy. "We have the right strategy.  We are going to break the Taliban's momentum³.  We're going to build Afghan capacity so Afghans can take responsibility for their future.  And we're going to deepen regional cooperation including with Pakistan," he said.

There was no discussion during the news conference of next July's target date for U.S. forces to begin drawing down in Afghanistan, which President Obama has stressed would be based on conditions on the ground.

Prime Minister Cameron said they assessed progress in a "vital year" in Afghanistan and reaffirmed the commitment to preparing Afghan forces to take on full security responsibilities.  But Mr. Cameron stressed the importance of a political strategy.

"Insurgencies tend not to be defeated by military means alone.  There must also be [a] political settlement.  And to those people currently fighting, if they give up violence, if they cut themselves off from al-Qaida, if they accept the basic tenets of the Afghan constitution, they can have a future in a peaceful Afghanistan," he said.

President Obama and Mr. Cameron referred to the outcome of the international donors⁴ conference in Kabul at which Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he is determined⁵ that the government will take charge of security by 2014.

The two leader also discussed the British-based energy company BP and the controversy⁶ surrounding allegations that it influenced a Scottish government decision to release Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi - the Libyan man convicted for his role in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

The British prime minister said there was full agreement that it was wrong to release al-Megrahi.  Saying there is nothing to suggest that BP was involved in influencing the Scottish decision, Mr. Cameron said he does not think a full British government investigation⁷ is needed. "There was a decision taken by the Scottish executive, in my view a wholly wrong and misguided decision, a bad decision but their decision nonetheless.  And I don't think we need an extra inquiry⁸ to tell us that that is what happened," he said.

Mr. Cameron said he would order a review of all documentation from the al-Megrahi case and that the British government would cooperate fully⁹ with any U.S. congressional probe.

President Obama and Mr. Cameron stressed the need to move toward direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians, with Mr. Cameron saying that it is time for the two sides to test the seriousness of the other.

On Iran, both men urged the government in Tehran to fulfill¹⁰ international obligations or face growing pressure over a nuclear program the United States, Britain and other Western powers say, but Tehran denies, is aimed at developing a nuclear weapon.

OBAMA: "We remain committed to a diplomatic solution but the Iranian government must understand that the path of defiance¹¹ will only bring more pressure and isolation¹²."

CAMERON: "America and Britain with our partners stand ready to negotiate and to do so in good faith.  But in the absence of a willing partner, we will implement¹³ with vigor¹⁴ the sanctions package agreed by the U.N. Security Council.  And in Europe, we will be taking further steps as well."

On the global economy, President Obama said he and Prime Minister Cameron are determined to ensure that a similar financial crisis does not happen again.  The president said he is committed to dealing¹⁵ with short-term deficits¹⁶ and debt, and tackling what he called big structural¹⁷ reforms that will be tough to implement amid recovery from the recession.

A glimpse of the apparent warmth of the Obama-Cameron relationship was seen at the start of the news conference, as Mr. Obama joked about the temperature of American and British beers they shared. 

Mr. Cameron remarked about the tour of the White House he received, saying he was impressed at the tidiness of the bedrooms of President Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia.
 

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

3 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

4 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

11 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

12 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

13 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

14 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

16 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

17 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。