时代周刊:外界坐视不理 叙利亚为此付出了多大代价(2)

Other countries have focused on the fight against terrorism or on the humanitarian¹ relief effort, while the war itself has bled ever more fiercely.

其他国家则将重点放在了打击恐怖主义，实施人道主义援助上，叙利亚战争本身则变得更为血腥了。

Laws prohibiting the killing² of civilians⁴, the bombing of hospitals and schools, or mass rape⁵;

在叙利亚战争问题上，禁止杀害平民、禁止轰炸医院及学校，禁止大规模强奸的法律，

treaties banning the use of chemical attacks; the Responsibility to Protect pact⁶, signed by U.N. member states;

禁止使用化学攻击的条约，联合国成员国签署的国家保护责任条约，

the Security Council’s powers to act to stop a conflict–the U.N. Charter itself–all lie broken, unused or misused⁷ in the Syrian conflict.

安理会采取行动，制止冲突的权力--也即联合国宪章本身--不是未被履行，未被利用，就是被滥用。

Since 2014, the U.N. has been unable to count the dead in Syria.

自2014年以来，联合国一直未能统计出叙利亚的死亡人数。

Some estimate that over half a million Syrians have died.

一些人估计这一人数多达50万以上。

Politicians often imply that we face a choice between open-ended military and diplomatic interventions⁸ of the kind we’ve seen in Iraq and Afghanistan,

政客们经常暗示，我们面前有两种选择，一种是采取伊拉克和阿富汗经历过的那种开放式的军事和外交干预，

and leaving other countries to fend⁹ for themselves,

一种是让其他国家自食其力，

sending whatever amount of humanitarian aid we’re willing to supply, and sealing ourselves off.

我们只负责管好我们自己，同时提供我们愿意提供的，任何规模的人道主义援助。

Syria is proof that a lack of leadership and diplomacy¹⁰ has consequences.

缺乏领导和外交会带来怎样的后果？叙利亚冲突便是一大明证。

It also raises fundamental questions for us as Americans:

这一冲突也引发了我们美国人对一些重大问题的思考：

When did we stop wanting to stand up for the underdog, for the innocent, for those fighting for their human rights?

我们何时才能放弃挺身而出，为失败者、无辜者以及那些为自己的人权斗争的人“打抱不平”的冲动？

And what kind of country would we be if we abandoned that principle?

放弃这一原则，我们又会成为一个怎样的国家？

There is a lot of focus in America today on self-preservation.

如今的美国，大家都非常关注自我保护。

But peace is almost always fought for hardest by those who really understand war.

然而，为争取和平付出的努力最为艰辛的几乎往往都是那些真正了解战争的人。

History shows that when we fought for the liberation of Europe in World War II, or contributed to building the postwar global order,

历史表明，二战期间我们所谓的为解放欧洲而战，战后所谓的为建立全球秩序添砖加瓦，

we did so for our own interests–and we reaped the benefits.

实则都是在为我们自己的利益奔走——好处我们可没少拿。

When America was attacked on 9/11,

美国遭遇9/11袭击时，

many countries made common cause with us because we had earned their friendship.

不少国家纷纷与我们同仇敌忾，因为我们赢得了他们的友谊。

We’re watching the brutal¹¹ endgame of the war in Syria as if it has little to do with us.

到了叙利亚战争问题上，我们却选择了坐视叙利亚战争残酷收尾，好像这场战争与我们并没有什么关系。

But it does.

事实是，关系很大。

We should be using our diplomatic power to insist on a cease-fire

我们应该发挥我们的外交实力，坚持走停火，和平谈判的道路，

and a negotiated peace based on at least some measure of political participation¹², accountability and the conditions for the safe return of refugees.

至少要做一定的政治参与，问责，规定难民安全返回条件工作。

The alternative is that Syria stands as an infamous¹³ new reference point for the brutality¹⁴

否则，叙利亚将成为一个国家

and destruction that it is possible to inflict¹⁵ with impunity¹⁶ upon a civilian³ population–

可能在不受惩罚的情况下对平民施加的暴行和破坏的新参照点，

and it will fall on the already loaded shoulders of the next generation to rebuild a shattered international system.

届时，重建已经支离破碎的国际秩序的重任便会落到下一代身上，尽管他们早已不堪重负。

1 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。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

6 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

7 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

9 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

10 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。

11 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

12 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

13 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

14 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

15 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

16 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。