美国国家公共电台 NPR At State Department, 'Dissent Channel' In High Gear With Refugee Ban Protests

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: 

In the State Department, there is an easy and usually private way for employees to register their concerns about U.S. policy. It's called the Dissent¹ Channel. Today, an unusually large number of Foreign Service officers are using the channel to protest Donald Trump²'s executive order on visas and refugees. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports that scores of officers have signed a dissent cable that says the order, quote, "runs counter to American values and could be counterproductive."

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE³: The White House says it consulted for, quote, "many weeks" with the State Department before issuing an executive order temporarily banning visas for citizens of seven mainly Muslim countries and suspending the refugee resettlement program. Officials who were involved in the refugee program deny that. And one retired⁴ ambassador, Laura Kennedy, says the executive order did not read like it was reviewed by State Department lawyers, consular⁵ or refugee officials.

LAURA KENNEDY: It is just, as the dissent message, I think, makes clear, inconsistent with values, with security aims of the administration, with process, with any number of things.

KELEMEN: During her 40-year career at the State Department, Kennedy never signed a dissent cable herself. She remembers one time in the 1990s when more than a dozen diplomats⁶ raised concerns about U.S. policy in the Balkans. Last year, about 50 Foreign Service officers criticized the Obama administration for failing to do enough to protect civilians⁷ in Syria. But this Trump executive order is generating much more attention, according to Kennedy.

KENNEDY: I know that many, many serving officers were horrified⁸ by this message.

KELEMEN: That is the message the White House was sending in its executive order titled "Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry." The draft dissent cable, which was published by the Lawfare blog, points out that the overwhelming majority of attacks on U.S. soil are committed by native-born or naturalized U.S. citizens. Those are individuals who have been living in the U.S. for decades or since birth. And it says terrorist attacks that were carried out by foreign nationals entering the U.S. on visas came from countries that were not included in the ban, such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Asked about those who signed the dissent cable, White House spokesman Sean Spicer was dismissive.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SEAN SPICER: I think that they should either get with the program, or they can go.

KELEMEN: All of this comes at a time when the Trump administration has cleared out top management positions at the State Department without naming anyone new. Secretary of state designee Rex Tillerson is still awaiting confirmation⁹. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

1 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。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 consular   

a.领事的

参考例句：

• He has rounded out twenty years in the consular service. 他在领事馆工作已整整20年了。
• Consular invoices are declarations made at the consulate of the importing country. 领事发票是进口国领事馆签发的一种申报书。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

9 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。