VOA常速英语2008年-US-Libya Rapprochement Stalls

By Gary Thomas
Washington
27 February 2008

In 2003, the United States held up Libya as an example of a rehabilitated¹ rogue² state after Tripoli renounced³ terrorism and scrapped⁴ its weapons of mass destruction programs. But attempts to forge closer bonds between the United States and Libya have stalled. As VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, the Libyan government is annoyed that its new behavior has not yielded more tangible⁵ rewards from Washington.

Libya's re-entry into the good graces of the West in 2003 was hailed by the United States as a foreign policy success story. Analysts⁶ say Washington was pointedly⁷ trying to show countries like Iran and North Korea that good things can happen to a country that gives up ambitions to get weapons of mass destruction and stops backing terrorism.

But, as Libyan ambassador to the United States Ali Aujali tells VOA, his country is still waiting for its tangible thank-yous from Washington.

"I think Libya is entitled, Libya deserves, better attention from the United States for what it did if we are really concerned about the proliferation about the weapons of mass destruction…The United States did not reward Libya for what it did. Libya did not get the reward that we were supposed to get," he said.

Diplomatic relations between Washington and Tripoli were resumed in 2006, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promised last August that she would visit Tripoli. But ties remain in a state of suspended animation⁸ in large part, analysts say, because of concerns in Congress about human rights and delayed final compensation to the families of victims of past Libyan-sponsored acts of terrorism.

Libya has been accused of involvement in several terrorist attacks, including the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 that killed 270 people.

Secretary Rice says she still wants to press ahead with a trip to Libya, but no visit has yet been announced. She also says she realizes that Libya would like some recognition for having changed its behavior.

"I still expect that I will go to Libya," she said. "I expect that we'll continue to have to talk about difficult things: human rights, terrorism. We're looking at the Lautenberg Amendment⁹ and its effect and what can be done, but obviously, when you have a major strategic shift of the kind that Libya has made, you want there to be some affirmation of the importance of having done that."

The amendment she refers to is an attachment¹⁰ tacked¹¹ on to an Iraq war spending bill by Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg. The bill, signed into law by President Bush in January, allows victims of terrorism to collect damages from the governments responsible by having their assets frozen.

David Goldwyn of the U.S.-Libya Business Association, which is dedicated¹² to promoting trade between the two countries, says the law not only is irritating the Libyan government, but is scaring off potential Libyan investment in the United States.

"They have in a sense legislated¹³ capital flight of Libyan capital from the United States to avoid this legislation. So it's understandable, but not effective. And I think we can only hope that we can reason with the Congress, and that the administration will step up and try to save, I think, its most significant foreign policy accomplishment¹⁴ of the past eight years," he said.

Congress is also holding up confirmation¹⁵ hearings for a U.S. ambassador to Libya and, until recently, also refused to fund a new U.S. embassy in Tripoli.

Many analysts believe that smoothing ties with Libya is just not a top priority of the Bush administration in its waning¹⁶ days. David Mack, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, says the administration simply has too many other, more urgent matters to deal with in the region, and does not think the Libyan relationship is worth a fight with Congress.

"The Bush administration no longer has the kind of muscle in foreign relations in dealing¹⁷ with Congress that it used to. And so they have to pick their issues. And right now, the Iraq war and to a certain extent the Afghanistan war, relations with Iran, and the Israeli-Palestinian issue, have crowded pretty much everything else out of the Middle East agenda for the Bush administration," he said.

David Schenker, director of Arab Politics Program at the Washington Institute for Near East studies, says Libya does not deserve preferential treatment anyway because it has not, as he sees it, changed its ways, particularly with regard to compensating¹⁸ victims of its terrorism.

"State sponsors of terrorism who are developing weapons of mass destruction, authoritarian¹⁹ governments, don't always abide²⁰ by their agreements and certainly don't look after to the spirit of the agreement. I think the problem was that we were so pleased in this policy success that we declared victory way too early," he said.

A foundation led by the influential²¹ elder son of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi said recently that authorities are planning to release some of the jailed members of an al-Qaida-affiliated Islamist group accused of trying to overthrow²² the government.

Lisa Anderson, a professor of international relations at Columbia University and a leading expert on Libya, believes the move is part of Libya's attempt to pressure Washington get the dormant²³ relationship back on track.

"I do think that this announcement that the Libyans are going to be releasing some of the people that they have jailed is designed to really sort of call the bluff²⁴ of the Bush administration about the war on terror," she said.

But as Washington dawdles²⁵, Europe is acting²⁶. On Wednesday the European Commission proposed opening talks with Libya aimed at strengthening economic and political ties between Libya and the European Union.

1 rehabilitated   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• He has been rehabilitated in public esteem. 公众已恢复对他的敬重。
• Young persons need to be, wherever possible, rehabilitated rather than punished. 未成年人需要受到尽可能的矫正而不是惩罚。

2 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

3 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》

4 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

5 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 pointedly   

adv.尖地，明显地

参考例句：

• She yawned and looked pointedly at her watch. 她打了个哈欠，又刻意地看了看手表。
• The demand for an apology was pointedly refused. 让对方道歉的要求遭到了断然拒绝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

9 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

10 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

11 tacked   

用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝

参考例句：

• He tacked the sheets of paper on as carefully as possible. 他尽量小心地把纸张钉上去。
• The seamstress tacked the two pieces of cloth. 女裁缝把那两块布粗缝了起来。

12 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

13 legislated   

v.立法，制定法律( legislate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Congress has legislated a new minimum wage for workers. 国会制定了一项新的关于工人最低工资的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most member countries have already legislated against excessive overtime. 大多数成员国均已立法禁止超时加班。 来自辞典例句

14 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

15 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。

16 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

18 compensating   

补偿，补助，修正

参考例句：

• I am able to set up compensating networks of nerve connections. 我能建立起补偿性的神经联系网。
• It is desirable that compensating cables be run in earthed conduit. 补偿导线最好在地下管道中穿过。

19 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

20 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

21 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

22 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

23 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

24 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

25 dawdles   

v.混（时间）( dawdle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My sister dawdles over the dishes. 妹妹做菜磨磨蹭蹭。 来自互联网
• He dawdles the hours away watching television. 他把时间都荒废在看电视上了。 来自互联网

26 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。