PBS高端访谈:特朗普计划与埃及重启双边关系

 　　HARI SREENIVASAN, PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND ANCHOR: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will visit the White House tomorrow. The administration has said President Trump¹ is looking to reboot the bilateral² relationship and build on the connection the two presidents established when they first met in New York last year. The visit raises questions about U.S. foreign aid to Egypt and al-Sisi's human rights record since he overthrew³ Egypt's first democratically-elected president in 2013.

　　"New York Times" White House correspondent Peter Baker⁴ joins me now from Washington for a preview.

　　Peter, you had a chance to sit down with officials in the White House last week. But, first of all, regardless of what happens at the meeting, the very act of the U.S. president meeting him at the White House, that's kind of a win for Egypt right there?

　　PETER BAKER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK TIMES: Well, the picture is what President Sisi wants more than anything, that along with the money, of course. But the picture is really important, a picture of him with the president of the United States, in the Oval Office, in the White House, something that no Egyptian president has had since 2009. President Obama, you know, he went back and forth⁵ on how hard to push on human rights but he kept a distance from President Sisi, never invited him to the White House. And this is something as you say as a victory for President Sisi to come and be with the president of the United States.

　　SREENIVASAN: All right. Let's talk about the people he overthrew to take the spot, the Muslim Brotherhood⁶, Egypt considers them basically a terrorist organization, but they want the world to see that as well. What's the likelihood the U.S. moves in that direction?

　　BAKER: Well, that's exactly right and when President Sisi met or his people met with people from President Obama's administration, they brought up every single time, you need to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, they said. And the Obama administration consistently refused.

　　The Trump administration is debating this. They're not sure about this. There are some people within the administration who agree, who think that the Muslim Brotherhood is essentially⁷ equivalent to radical⁸ Islamic groups like the Islamic State, like al-Qaeda, like Shabaab.

　　But there are many others inside the Trump administration and many outside the Trump administration who say, no, that — you shouldn't conflate the two. They're not like that. They are more moderate. They have officially renounced⁹ violence and they are a much more amorphous¹⁰ organization anyway that would cause all sorts of unintended consequences if you call them a terrorist organization because suddenly you wouldn't be allowed it deal with people who are in governments in places line Tunisia and other places.

　　特朗普计划与埃及重启双边关系

　　SREENIVASAN: All right. And Egypt has cracked down hard to put it mildly on the Muslim Brotherhood. And your piece recently talked about their human-rights record. And a lot of people are pushing the United States to take a stand on it. But what's the Trump administration going to do.

　　BAKER: According to Human Rights Watch, tens of thousands of people have been put in prison by President Sisi's administration for largely political reason, the Muslim Brotherhood. But not just Muslim Brotherhood, also, you know, some non — some people who are not related to them, including a few Americans.

　　What the Trump White House is saying is, look, human rights are important to us. We are going to raise it but we're going to do it in private. We're not going to talk about this publicly. We don't think that's the constructive¹¹ way to approach this.

　　But then you have the critics outside who are saying, if you don't raise it publicly, it sends a signal to not just Egypt but the whole region that it's not important to you.

　　SREENIVASAN: Now, speaking of the region, the president or the king of Jordan is supposed to visit on Wednesday. And the Trump administration has said their priority is to fight ISIS. And in that context, what about the aid the United States gives to Egypt? Does that increase or decrease especially with what the budget is?

　　BAKER: What, of course, we've seen President Trump has sent Congress a budget proposal that cuts foreign aid very drastically, very dramatically. And they have said other than Israel basically, everybody's aid package is on the table. Well, second to Israel is Egypt. $1.3 billion a year in military aid.

　　But the Trump administration is saying, look, we're going to give them enough money but we're not telling you how much yet because of the whole budget process going on. So, the Egyptians are very nervous about that, that's one of the top priorities that President Sisi has in coming to Washington is to see if he can't preserve their rather, you know, generous aid levels that they've had now going back to the Camp David Accords in the 1970s.

　　SREENIVASAN: All right. "New York Times" White House correspondent Peter Baker joining us from Washington — thanks so much.

　　BAKER: Thanks. Good talking to you.

1 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。

2 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

3 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

4 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

9 renounced   

v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes. 我们已再次宣布放弃使用武力来解决争端。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Andrew renounced his claim to the property. 安德鲁放弃了财产的所有权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 amorphous   

adj.无定形的

参考例句：

• There was a weakening of the intermolecular bonds,primarily in the amorphous region of the polymer.分子间键合减弱，尤其在聚合物的无定形区内更为明显。
• It is an amorphous colorless or white powder.它是一种无定形的无色或白色粉末。

11 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。