VOA标准英语2014--US: USAID-Backed Social Media Network in Cuba Was Not Secret 美国称对古巴社交网站的支持不是秘密

 

US: USAID-Backed Social Media Network in Cuba Was Not Secret 美国称对古巴社交网站的支持不是秘密

WASHINGTON — The White House says a social media communications network created by the U.S. government in Cuba was a development program, not a covert¹ operation.  The Associated Press reported earlier that the network sponsored by USAID was designed to undermine Cuba's communist government by building a text-messaging service that could be used to organize political demonstrations².

On the bustling³ streets of Havana, people continued to talk about the social media network ZunZuneo - Cuban slang for hummingbird⁴.  The Twitter-like text messaging service operated for two years and had tens of thousands of cell phone users.

"It was a very noble service. You would log on, and you could write 140 characters and hit send. It was free of charge," said former client Ernesto Guerra.

But his friend, Saimi Reyes, another user, said she often had doubts about the service.

"Sometimes I would wonder where this is from, where does the money come from?  Because, all this for nothing wasn't possible," she said.

According to the Associated Press, the idea was to build up a large social network through targeted text messages, allowing Cubans to communicate with one another, and later to push messages which USAID hoped would encourage dissent⁵. 

AP says it obtained more than 1,000 pages of documents from contractors⁶ about the development of ZunZuneo.  One memo⁷ read “there will be absolutely no mention of U.S. involvement.”

"It's true that every agency of the U.S. government, including unclassified programs, wants to protect certain details on who they're working with and all of that," said Fulton Armstrong, who was working for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time. "But this was far beyond. We were told we couldn't even be told in broad terms what was happening because, quote, 'People will die.'"

"Not a covert operation"

USAID ZunZuneo Project Manager Joe McSpedon refused to talk when asked if the project was a covert operation.

White House spokesman Jay Carney also rebuffed such allegations.

“USAID is a development agency not an intelligence agency. Suggestions that this was a covert program are wrong," he said. "Congress funds democracy programming for Cuba to help empower Cubans to access more information and strengthen civil society. These appropriations⁸ are public unlike covert action.”

Carney also says that this was discussed in Congress and reviewed by the Government Accountability Office.

“GAO [Government Accountability Office] reviewed this program in detail in 2013 and found that it was conducted in accordance to U.S. law and under appropriate oversight⁹ controls," he said. "In implementing¹⁰ programs in non-permissive environments, of course the government has taken steps to be discreet¹¹; that’s how you protect practitioners¹² and the public. This is not unique to Cuba.”

USAID says the ZunZuneo project was backed by a three-year grant totaling about $1.2 million.  It says its purpose was to create a platform for Cubans to speak freely among themselves.

“Countries around the world are telling the U.S. that they worry about the NSA snooping. This potentially compromises legitimate¹³ USAID humanitarian¹⁴ actions because they’ll be afraid that you let USAID in the country and they’ll be doing covert actions," said Philip Brenner, a Cuba expert at American University.

 

The grant funding the program ended in September 2012.

1 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

4 hummingbird   

n.蜂鸟

参考例句：

• The hummingbird perches on a twig of the hawthorn.小蜂鸟栖在山楂树枝上。
• The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backward.蜂鸟是唯一能倒退向后飞的鸟。

5 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

6 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

8 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

9 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

10 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

11 discreet   

adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的

参考例句：

• He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
• It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

12 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

13 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

14 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。