美国国家公共电台 NPR Opinion: Did Secretary Pompeo Forget His West Point Pledge?

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Mike Pompeo graduated first in his class at West Point in 1986, became a tank commander, went to Harvard Law, became a Beltway lawyer, Kansas businessman, congressman¹, CIA director and now secretary of state. There's no doubt West Point impacted who I am, Mr. Pompeo has said. It has an enormous emphasis, not only on military aspects but character development. Whether it's the honor code or the interactions you have, every place you are is a character test. In these days of qualifiers and codicils², the West Point honor code is concise³ and plain. A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do. U.S. Army officers I've met in wars have told me they carry that code through life. They've explained that will not lie includes what General Maxwell Taylor, who was superintendent⁴ of West Point called quibbling evasive statements or the use of technicalities. An officer doesn't find clever ways to avoid telling the truth. If a soldier asks who's the enemy behind that hill and an officer knows they've actually dug in on top of that hill, the officer shouldn't say, oh, not really. A West Point grad is supposed to answer with the truth they know is crucial, not quibbling evasive statements.

Last Sunday, when Secretary Pompeo was asked by ABC's Martha Raddatz about the conversation between President Trump⁵ and President Zelinskiy of Ukraine and the report of an intelligence community whistleblower about that conversation the secretary said, so you just gave me a report about an icy whistleblower complaint, none of which I've seen. And the secretary told a State Department briefing, I haven't had a chance to actually read the whistleblower complaint yet. I read the first couple of paragraphs and then got busy today. It wasn't until Wednesday, after a report in The Wall Street Journal, that he'd been on that phone call when Secretary Pompeo finally said at a press conference in Italy the entire truth about that conversation. He said, I was on that phone call.

Most politicians can be evasive. It's part of the parlance⁶ of politics. But Mike Pompeo is a trained soldier who conducts the foreign policy of the United States. Secretary Pompeo has been asked to comply with subpoenas⁷ and requests for records. You may wonder if he will use his skills to dance, slide and misdirect or be as honest and direct as the West Point honor code he knows by heart.

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1 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

2 codicils   

n.遗嘱的附件( codicil的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The content of a book or document exclusive of prefatory matter, codicils, indexes, or appendices. 正文除去序言、补遗、索引和附录的书或文献的主要部分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 concise   

adj.简洁的，简明的

参考例句：

• The explanation in this dictionary is concise and to the point.这部词典里的释义简明扼要。
• I gave a concise answer about this.我对于此事给了一个简要的答复。

4 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

5 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。

6 parlance   

n.说法；语调

参考例句：

• The term "meta directory" came into industry parlance two years ago.两年前，商业界开始用“元目录”这个术语。
• The phrase is common diplomatic parlance for spying.这种说法是指代间谍行为的常用外交辞令。

7 subpoenas   

n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My company has complied with committee subpoenas by supplying documents confirming all that I have said. 本公司按照委员会的要求，提供了能够证实我刚才发言的文件。 来自辞典例句
• Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power. Report for Congress April 2, 2003. 金灿荣：《美国国会的监督功能》，载《教学与研究》2003年第2期。 来自互联网