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约翰肯尼迪的丰富外交政策遗产

November 22nd marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination¹ of President John Kennedy.  The anniversary has become a point of reflection for Kennedy’s time in office as part of a special VOA series on his legacy².  The world was a vastly different place when Kennedy became president in 1961.  The United States and the Soviet³ Union were engaged in a Cold War where the front lines were Berlin, Cuba and Vietnam.  Kennedy came into office determined⁴ to counter Communism.  But an early foreign policy failure in Cuba got his administration off to a rocky start.

11月22日是约翰?肯尼迪总统遇刺50周年纪念日。美国之音借此推出肯尼迪系列报道，回顾肯尼迪时代。1961年肯尼迪当选总统时的世界和今天大不一样。美国和苏联当时深陷冷战，柏林、古巴和越南是冷战的前线。肯尼迪抱着反击共产主义的决心入主白宫。然而，对古巴外交政策的失败给肯尼迪政府带来了一个艰难的开端。

From the beginning of his presidency⁵, John Kennedy made it clear he would not bend in the face of Cold War aggression⁶ from the Soviet Union.

就任伊始，肯尼迪就清楚的表明，他不会在苏联盛气凌人的冷战气焰面前低头。

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe⁷, to assure the survival and success of liberty,” he said.

美国总统约翰?肯尼迪说： “要让每一个国家知道，无论他们希望我们好还是坏，为了确保自由的延续和胜利，我们不惜付出任何代价，承担任何重担，面对任何困难，支持任何朋友，反对任何敌人。”

The administration suffered an early misstep by backing a CIA plan for the invasion of Cuba by anti-Castro exiles at the Bay of Pigs.  Author Robert Dallek said the ill-conceived invasion was a debacle and Kennedy learned a valuable lesson.

支持中央情报局利用反卡斯特罗流亡人士从猪湾进攻古巴，这是肯尼迪政府初期的一次政策失误。历史学家达莱克说，这次错误的入侵是一次溃败，肯尼迪从中吸取了宝贵的教训。

“It is an utter failure, so much so that Kennedy afterwards said repeatedly, “How could I have been so stupid?”  And he is mortified⁸, deeply pained by this and it creates tremendous distrust for him in the military,” he said.

作家/历史学家罗伯特?达莱克说： “这是个绝对的失败，肯尼迪后来多次说，‘我怎么能那么愚蠢？’他为此感到非常羞愧和痛苦，这也使军队对他产生了极大的不信任。”

That early setback⁹ in Cuba combined with Kennedy’s youth and inexperience meant he had to earn respect from world leaders, including both allies and rivals, during an early trip to Europe.

早期在古巴的挫折，再加上肯尼迪年轻，缺乏经验，这些都意味着他必须在初期对欧洲的一次访问中赢得世界领袖们的尊重，既包括盟友也包括对手。

“And so the very fact that Kennedy would be seen standing¹⁰ next to De Gaulle, being treated as an equal, is an enormous boost to Kennedy’s international standing.  But then he goes off to Vienna to meet with Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet first secretary, and Khrushchev beats up on him unmercifully as this young man who does not know what he is doing, and the issue is Berlin...If there was one thing, one thing about foreign policy, that Kennedy was determined to do during his administration it was to avoid a nuclear conflict,” said Dallek.

作家/历史学家罗伯特?达莱克说：“肯尼迪与戴高乐站在一起，平起平坐，这将是对肯尼迪国际地位的巨大提升。但是随后他到维也纳会晤苏共总书记赫鲁晓夫时，赫鲁晓夫在柏林问题上无情地打击了这个不知道自己在做什么的年轻人。如果肯尼迪在外交政策上有一件事必须要做的话，那就是避免核冲突。”

President Kennedy faced his greatest foreign policy test in October of 1962 when U.S. spy planes discovered Soviet military activity in Cuba.

1962年10月，美国间谍飞机在古巴发现了苏联的军事活动。这成为肯尼迪总统面对的最大外交政策考验。

“Within the past week unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned¹¹ island," he said.

约翰?肯尼迪总统说：“上星期，准确无误的证据显示在那个孤立的岛屿上，一系列进攻性导弹基地正在准备之中。”

Kennedy ordered a naval¹² blockade of Cuba to stop the delivery of Soviet missiles.  The 13-day Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the brink¹³ of nuclear war.  But Kennedy’s back-channel diplomacy¹⁴ combined with the threat of military action eventually helped to defuse the crisis, and the Soviets¹⁵ backed down.

肯尼迪下令对古巴进行海上封锁，阻止苏联运送导弹。13天的古巴导弹危机使世界离核战争只有一步之遥。但是肯尼迪的幕后外交活动加上军事行动威胁，最终化解了危机，苏联人后退了。

The missile crisis convinced Kennedy to find ways to defuse Cold War tensions.  A few months before he died came one of his greatest achievements, the signing of a limited nuclear test ban treaty with the Soviet Union that set the stage for future arms agreements with Moscow.

导弹危机让肯尼迪相信，必须设法化解冷战紧张气氛。在他去世前几个月，美苏签订了核禁试条约，这是肯尼迪取得的最杰出成就之一。这个条约为之后与莫斯科达成武器协议打下了基础。

In his final months in office, Kennedy also sent conflicting signals about the wisdom of continued U.S. military involvement in South Vietnam.

在他在任的最后几个月中，肯尼迪还就美国在南越持续的军事行动是否明智发出了相互矛盾的信号。

“I do not think he ever would have done what Lyndon Johnson did.  I do not think he ever would have put in the massive numbers of troops that Johnson committed.  Would he have gotten out?  I do not know.  But I just do not think he would have escalated¹⁶ that war the way Johnson did,” author Robert Dallek said.

罗伯特?达莱克说：“我觉得他不会做约翰逊做的事，他不会像约翰逊那样把大批军队派往南越。他会从越南撤军吗？我不知道。但是我觉得他不会像约翰逊那样让战争升级。”

John Kennedy’s time in office was brief, but his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis and efforts toward world peace remain enduring parts of his presidential legacy.

肯尼迪在任时间很短，但是他对古巴导弹危机的处理和为建立世界和平做出的努力成为他总统遗产中历久不衰的一部分。