奥巴马将古巴移出支恐名单

 　　President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he intended to take communist Cuba off the United States' list of state sponsors of terrorism, part of his effort to normalize relations with the island nation after five decades of hostilities¹.

　　The American leader told Congress of his intention after a State Department review concluded that Cuba "has not provided any support for international terrorism" in the last six months, and it has given the U.S. assurances that it does not intend to in the future.

　　Senior administration officials said the State Department review was “extremely rigorous,” and officials said they were “very confident” about the recommendation.

　　Obama to Remove Cuba From State Sponsors of Terrorism List

　　Obama's action came just days after he met with Cuban President Raul Castro at the Summit of the Americas in Panama, the first face-to-face meeting of leaders of the two countries in more than 50 years.

　　The terror designation had been a barrier in the resumption of relations between the two countries, which that are separated by 145 kilometers of open sea.

　　The U.S. has long since stopped actively² accusing Cuba of supporting terrorism. When Obama and Castro announced a thaw³ in relations in December, the U.S. president expressed his willingness to remove Cuba from that list.

　　However, he held off on making a final decision amid indications that the White House was reluctant to grant Cuba's request until other thorny⁴ issues — such as restrictions⁵ on U.S. diplomats⁷ in Havana — were resolved.

　　The U.S. government placed Cuba on the sponsors-of-terrorism list in 1982 because of the communist nation’s “efforts to promote armed revolution by forces in Latin America,” said Secretary of State John Kerry.  But, the U.S. diplomat⁶ added, "circumstances have changed."

　　Kerry said that while the U.S. still has significant concerns and disagreements with Cuba on a wide range of Havana’s policies and actions, “these concerns and disagreements fall outside the criteria⁸ for designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.”

　　Obama submitted the statutorily required reports and certifications to Congress on Tuesday.  The statute⁹ requires that no rescission take place within 45 days. Congress can enact¹⁰ a joint¹¹ resolution to prohibit the rescission, but the president can veto that action, according to a top government official. Congress can override¹² the veto.

　　If the designation is rescinded¹³, Cuba will no longer be subjected to restrictions under the state-sponsor-of-terrorism authorities, including restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance, a ban on defense¹⁴ exports and sales, certain controls over the export of dual-use items, and miscellaneous financial and other restrictions.

　　In December, Obama announced a sweeping¹⁵ new approach toward Cuba, one that pushes aside a longtime policy of isolation¹⁶ in favor of engagement and empowerment of the Cuban people.

　　U.S. and Cuban diplomats are continuing to work on opening embassies in Havana and Washington. A senior State Department official said Tuesday that after decades of mistrust, “maybe more confidence-building is necessary, but we’ll get there.”

　　Obama administration officials hope removing Cuba from the list will help build that confidence.

　　The terrorist designation has irked Cuba’s leadership, and at the Summit of the Americas, Castro praised Obama’s efforts to remove his country from the list.

　　Castro said Cuba should have never been designated a sponsor of terrorism. In a 48-minute speech to leaders including Obama, the Cuban president accused the United States of sponsoring terrorist activity. As an example, he cited the CIA’s participation¹⁷ in the capture and interrogation of leftist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, executed in 1967 while trying to launch an unsuccessful rebellion in Bolivia.

　　In the 1970s and 1980s, Cuba supported leftist insurgencies in Central and South America and sent up to 37,000 troops to participate in Angola’s civil war.

　　Obama has said a decision to remove Cuba’s terrorist designation would be based on facts. U.S. officials said there has been no recent evidence of Cuban support for armed rebellions.

　　In the early 1990s, following the collapse¹⁸ of the Soviet¹⁹ Union and the subsequent loss of economic and military support from Moscow, then-President Fidel Castro announced Cuba would no longer take part in foreign conflicts.

1 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

2 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

3 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

4 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

7 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》

8 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

9 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

10 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

13 rescinded   

v.废除，取消( rescind的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Rescinded civil acts shall be null and void from the very beginning. 被撤销的民事行为从行为开始起无效。 来自互联网
• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan. 他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。 来自互联网

14 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。

15 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

16 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

17 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

18 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

19 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。