美国国家公共电台 NPR Bolton Brings Hawkish Perspective To North Korea, Iran Strategy

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Joining us to talk a little bit more about the incoming national security adviser¹ is NPR's Michele Kelemen. Hey, Michele.

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE²: Hi. Nice to be here.

CHANG: So as we just heard, John Bolton is a regular commentator³ on Fox News. What else can you tell us about him?

KELEMEN: Well, he's a - he started in the Bush administration. He was a lawyer. Actually, he worked on the Florida recount when President Bush was elected. And then he was undersecretary for arms control and U.N. ambassador. And he was a very controversial figure. He was known for this hard-line approach on foreign policy. He once famously said that if you get rid of the top 10 floors of the U.N. Secretariat, it wouldn't make a bit of a difference. He actually was never confirmed for that U.N. job. He had it only on a recess⁴ appointment for a short time.

CHANG: And what about the timing⁵ of all of this? I mean, it's coming at a pretty significant moment for foreign policy decisions the president has to make about North Korea, Iran.

KELEMEN: Right. So you have this possibility of a meeting between Trump⁶ and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as early as May. And I can tell you that Bolton was not an advocate for nuclear diplomacy⁷ on North Korea when he was at the State Department. I was covering it at the time. He's more of a regime change proponent⁸ - same, too, with Iran. Trump has so far stayed in the Iran nuclear deal, but he has to decide in May if he continues to stay in and continues to offer sanctions relief. He wants the Europeans to fix the deal by May. But Bolton has been pretty clear on that. He wrote an op-ed just in January. He said no fix - he said there's no fix that will remedy what he called the diplomatic Waterloo Mr. Obama negotiated.

CHANG: So with Bolton coming in and Tillerson leaving, the former secretary of state - you know, today was Tillerson's last day at the State Department - does this mark a shift in President Trump's foreign policy approach, you think?

KELEMEN: I think so. I mean, Mike Pompeo, the CIA director who's been named to replace Tillerson, and Bolton are hawks⁹ particularly on Iran. And, you know, remember; it was Tillerson who seemed to be the main voice perhaps along with Mattis, the defense¹⁰ minister - the defense secretary to stay in the Iran deal. So with these moves, you know, you do see more of a go-it-alone foreign policy, but also something different than what Trump, you know, campaigned on. These were both supporters of the Iraq war. So I'm not sure how that fits into President Trump's views now.

CHANG: What sort of reaction have you been hearing on this latest shuffle¹¹?

KELEMEN: You know, when the names first started floating, I saw Richard Painter, the White House ethics¹² adviser in the Bush administration, send out a tweet. And he said that Bolton was - and this is a quote - "by far the most dangerous person we had in the eight years of the Bush administration"...

CHANG: Wow.

KELEMEN: ..."Hiring him is an invitation to war." That was his quote on Twitter. So, you know, a lot of people are very concerned about where this heads now.

CHANG: Are you hearing any support for Bolton's arrival?

KELEMEN: Well, you know, certainly he was at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, and there are plenty of people who do support this kind of rough-and-tumble approach to foreign policy. And, you know, it wasn't very effective where things were - where things were going with Tillerson and McMaster, so maybe this straighten things out. But I think a lot more concern than you hear of that side.

CHANG: All right, that's NPR's Michele Kelemen. Thanks very much.

KELEMEN: Thank you.

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 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。

3 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

4 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

5 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

6 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。

7 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。

8 proponent   

n.建议者；支持者；adj.建议的

参考例句：

• Stapp became a strong early proponent of automobile seat belts.斯塔普是力主在汽车上采用座椅安全带的早期倡导者。
• Halsey was identified as a leading proponent of the values of progressive education.哈尔西被认为是进步教育价值观的主要支持者。

9 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 shuffle   

n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走

参考例句：

• I wish you'd remember to shuffle before you deal.我希望在你发牌前记得洗牌。
• Don't shuffle your feet along.别拖着脚步走。

12 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。