NBC晚间新闻 外交途径能解决叙利亚问题吗

Will diplomacy¹ work in Syria?

外交途径能解决叙利亚问题吗？

President Obama asks congress to postpone² a vote to authorize³ the use of force in Syria while he purses the diplomatic path proposed by Vladmir Putin; to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control and destroy them. But will this work? NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports.

奥巴马总统要求国会推迟关于向叙利亚采取军事制裁的授权投票，同时他反对普京提出的通过外交途径解决取得对叙利亚化学武器的控制权并摧毁这些武器。但是这能解决问题吗？NBC的Andrea Mitchell报道。

Good evening. The next moving pieces on Syria appear to be in place tonight and the story changed again today after the American people witnessed a rare event last night -- a primetime address to the nation by the president that wasn't what he intended to say originally. It was originally designed to make his case to attack Syria for using chemical weapons. That appears to be on hold. So is the vote in congress. now we see in if diplomacy works while the president is still making it clear he believes the use of chemical weapons cannot stand, the question tonight is how to possibly secure them all. Prior to departing with secretary of state john kerry for the diplomatic talks in geneva, our chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell starts us off tonight.

reporter: Tough words from the president.

Let me make something clear. The United States military doesn't do pinpricks.

reporter: But unusual for a presidential address to the nation, no call for action.

I have therefore asked the leaders of congress to postpone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path.

reporter: The diplomatic path Vladimir Putin's proposal to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control and destroy them. But even if an agreement is reached at the UN, can it work? The Syrian chemical arsenal⁴ is scattered⁵. This satellite shows a suspected depot⁶, bunkers ring the periphery⁷.

It is a war zone at the moment. A very bitter, difficult civil war is happening. And to do this sort of thing of destroying chemical weapons in place is gonna be hugely difficult.

reporter: The president is sending secretary of state John Kerry tonight to Geneva to test whether Russia is serious.

This cannot be a process of delay, this cannot be a process of avoidance. It has to be real.

reporter: What's in it for Putin? Protecting Russia's naval⁸ base on the Mediterian in Tartous in Syrian territory. Keeping the chemical weapons away from Islamic terrorists in place s like Chechnya. Resserting Russia's role in Middle East diplomacy and keeping Assad in power. But critics say the president's zig zags have given the US a weak hand.

I think we'll have a crippled negotiating team walking into the room where Putin holds all the cards on getting rid of chemical weapons.

reporter: And Putin is already flexing⁹ his muscles at the UN where leading security council members met after a Russia blocked resolution supported by the US, France and Great Britain that would preserve the military option if the Assad regime doesn't comply. And there is the challenge at home. Most Americans like these of the Skokie, Illinois, public library want to avoid military action.

We continue have these wars, another war after another.

We need to spend the money in the United States and forget about the Middle East.

I just don't want to hear emotional arguments. Because I think it is to manipulate us.

reporter: The question the president has not answered, what will he do if diplomacy fails? Andrea Mitchell, NBC News, Washington.

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

3 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

4 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

5 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

6 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

7 periphery   

n.(圆体的)外面；周围

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe.从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。
• The periphery of the retina is very sensitive to motion.视网膜的外围对运动非常敏感。

8 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

9 flexing   

n.挠曲，可挠性v.屈曲( flex的现在分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• Flexing particular muscles allows snakes to move in several ways. 可弯曲的特殊的肌肉使蛇可以用几种方式移动。 来自电影对白
• China has become an economic superpower and is flexing its muscles. 中国已经成为了一个经济巨人而且在展示他的肌肉。 来自互联网