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美国如何成了世界大国(下)

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But while the UN is the most famous of the post-war institutions, it isn’t the only one.

然而,尽管联合国是二战后最为著名的机构,它并不是唯一的一个国际机构
730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations came together in a small vacation haven in New Hampshire.
来自44个联盟国家的730名代表,聚集在新罕布什尔州的一座度假别墅里
Their goal? To establish a global financial system that would prevent another Great Depression and World War.
他们想干什么?成立一个能够避免大萧条和世界大战再次爆发的国际金融体系
The resulting agreement, called the Bretton Woods Agreement
这些人此次达成的《布里顿森林协定》
ultimately became backbone of the global financial system,
最终成为了国际金融体系的支柱
resulting in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
并促成了世界银行和国际货币基金组织的成立
By creating these institutions,
通过成立这些机构
the United States committed itself to being deeply involved in the world’s problems.
美国致力于深度参与国际问题
The issue, though, is that the world’s second-largest power —
然而,问题是,世界第二大国——
The Soviet Union — saw things differently.
苏联——并不这么想
World War II had made allies out of the democratic West and communist East in the fight against Hitler,
二战时期,在反抗希特勒的战争中,西方的民主国家以及东方的社会主义国家纷纷联盟
but that couldn’t last.
然而这种联盟并未持续很久
The United States saw Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe and elsewhere
美国认为,苏联在东欧等地的扩张
as a direct threat to its vision of a free-trading democratic world.
直接威胁到了其建立自由贸易的民主世界的愿景
To a substantial degree, in one form or another, socialism has spread the shadow of human regimentation
很大程度上,社会主义以某种方式让世界上大部分国家
Over most of the nations of the earth
都受到了专制统治的危害
And...the shadow is encroaching on our own liberty.
而且,这种影响已经威胁到了我们的自由
Fearful of Soviet intentions towards Western Europe,
因为害怕苏联朝西欧扩张
the US and other European nations created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,
美国和其他欧洲国家联合,成立了“北约”
a military alliance meant to stop Russia from invading other countries in Europe.
这一军事联盟,企图组织苏联入侵其他欧洲国家
Globally, the US committed to a strategy called “containment” —
在国际上,美国推行“遏制政策”
so called because it was aimed at containing the spread of Communism everywhere on the globe.
之所以这么叫是因为其目的是为了遏制共产主义往世界各地扩张
This new global struggle meant that the US had to exert influence everywhere, all the time.
这一新的国际行动意味着美国要随时随地发挥作用
Instead of disbanding the massive military machine created for World War II,
美国不仅没有解除其为二战准备的军事武器
its wheels mostly kept turning.
反而将大部分都派上了用场
This had two main results:
这一策略带来了两个主要结果:
T

first, the US was pulled into unlikely alliances with countries like Saudi Arabia, Israel and South Korea,

一是,美国和原本不大可能结盟的国家,诸如沙特、以色列和韩国结了盟
seeing each of them as bulwarks against communist influence in their region.
并将其视为在周围地区防范共产主义的壁垒
Secondly, the US began intervening, often secretly, in dozens of countries to contain Soviet influence.
二是美国开始干预,经常都是秘密进行的,数十个国家的内政,企图遏制苏联的渗透
Sometimes this meant propping up sympathetic dictators like in Iran,
有时,这就意味着扶植能与其达成共识的独裁者,比如伊朗的独裁者
other times it means supplying rebels with arms and money
其他时候则意味着要在武器和经济上支持叛乱分子
like in Afghanistan in 1979 and Nicaragua in 1985.
比如1979年阿富汗的叛乱和1985年尼加拉瓜的叛乱
Over the course of the Cold War, the US intervened in hundreds of disputes around the globe,
冷战时期,美国介入了各地数百起纷争
ending up with a complicated set of alliances, tensions,
导致各地的联盟、冲突
and relationships in basically every corner of the earth.
和关系变得更加复杂
After the Berlin wall fell, the US could have withdrawn from this system,
柏林墙被推到以后,美国本可以从这个网络中抽身
severing ties with its allies and drawing down the size of its military.
切断与其联盟的关系,裁减军队规模
And while the US did military spending,
然而,虽然美国的确缩减了军费开支
much of the military infrastructure and alliances from the Cold War war remained.
但冷战时期结成的联盟以及配备的军用设施很大程度上都保留了下来
Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton decided that
布什总统和克林顿总统也一致认为
it was in both America and the world’s interests for the United States,
美国,如今唯一的超级大国,在国际事务继续活跃下去
now the sole superpower on earth, to continue actively managing global affairs.
符合美国和全世界的利益
We should be and we must be Peacemakers
我们应该也必须扮演调解员的角色
NATO, created solely as a tool for countering the Soviets, stayed together and even expanded,
当初单纯为了对抗苏联而成立的北约不仅没有解散,还加入了新成员
a way of keeping European nations united in the absence of the Soviet threat.
企图让所有欧洲国家团结起来,即便是已经没有了苏联的威胁
Washington’s support for countries like Israel and Japan stayed intact,
美国政府对以色列、日本等国的支持也丝毫没变
ostensibly as a means of preventing war in those regions.
表面上则称是为了防止爆发局部战争
The global system of alliances and institutions created to keep the peace during the Cold War became permanent —
冷战期间为了维护和平结成的国际联盟和国际组织如今也成了主旋律
as the American military and political commitments necessarily keep them running .
因为美国做出的军事承诺和政治承诺要求这些组织继续发挥作用
This system remains in operation today,
这一系统今天仍在运转,
and no leading American politician since the Cold War seriously called for dismantling them —
而且,冷战以来美国的领导人,特朗普可能是个例外
except, perhaps for Donald Trump.
并没有强烈要解除这些组织的意愿
Trump has said contradictory things about these commitments.
特朗普的言论与这些承诺背道而驰
But he’s consistently argued that American allies are not paying America enough for its protection,
但他曾不断表示美国的盟国交的保护费不够
and questioned the value of free trade.
他对自由贸易的价值他也表示怀疑
That calls NATO and even the World Trade Organization into question.
这样一来,北约和世界贸易组织能否继续存在都成了问题
At some point, we have to say, you know what,
有时候,我们不得不说,你知道吗
we're better off if Japan protects itself against this maniac in North Korea.
如果在疯狂的朝鲜面前日本能够自保,那我们不就轻松多了
We're better off frankly if South Korea is going to start to protect itself --and Saudi Arabia?
实话说,如果韩国能够自保,我们也会轻松很多——那沙特呢?
Saudi Arabia? Absolutely.
沙特?一样啊
This is a sharp divergence from the consensus that has dominated US foreign policy since 1945,
这种观点和二战结束以来美国一直坚持的外交政策相去万里
and something closer to the isolationism that came before it.
仿佛更接近二战之前美国采取的置身事外的态度
So will President Trump act on some of candidate Trump's ideas,
特朗普总统是否会推行他在候选时提出的那些观点
and reverse decades worth of institution building and alliances?
将美国数十年来成立国际联盟和组织的努力付诸一炬?
We'll find out, soon enough.
答案不久就将浮出水面

重点单词   查看全部解释    
threat [θret]

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n. 威胁,凶兆
vt. 威胁, 恐吓

 
consistently [kən'sistəntli]

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adj. 一致的,始终如一的

 
divergence [dai'və:dʒəns]

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n. 分歧 n. 散度(数学用语)

 
treaty ['tri:ti]

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n. 条约,协定

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except [ik'sept]

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vt. 除,除外
prep. & conj.

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reverse [ri'və:s]

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n. 相反,背面,失败,倒档
adj. 反面的

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ultimately ['ʌltimitli]

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adv. 最后,最终

 
exert [ig'zə:t]

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vt. 运用,施加(压力,影响等)

联想记忆
permanent ['pə:mənənt]

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adj. 永久的,持久的
n. 烫发

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democratic [.demə'krætik]

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adj. 民主的,大众的,平等的

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