VOA双语新闻 US, Britain Reject Annan Criticism

The United States and Britain have rejected U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's allegations that they are partly to blame for the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. Mr. Annan made the comment in what he thought was an off-the-record meeting.

美国和英国拒绝接受联合国秘书长安南的指责，安南认为美英两国在伊拉克石油换食品丑闻中应该负一部份责任。安南这番话是在一个他认为是非正式的会议中说的。

The secretary-general's remarks came Thursday at a reunion seminar of current and past U.N. spokesmen. Answering a question from a former top U.N. official, Mr. Annan defended the world body's role in the scandal-plagued Iraq oil-for-food program. He said The United States and Britain, as members of the Security Council Committee that authorized² and oversaw³ the program, had turned a blind eye to oil smuggling⁴ by Saddam Hussein's government.

安南这番话是星期四在前任和现任联合国发言人的聚会上说的。安南在回答一名前联合国高官提问时，为联合国在备受丑闻困扰的伊拉克石油换食品项目中扮演的角色进行辩护。他说，美国和英国作为授权监督这个项目的安理会委员会成员国，对萨达姆政府走私石油行径视若无睹。

"The bulk of the money that Saddam made came out of smuggling outside the oil-for-food [program], and it was on the American and British watch. They were the ones who had interdiction⁵, possibly they were also the ones who knew exactly what was going on, and that the countries themselves decided⁶ to close their eyes to smuggling to Turkey and Jordan because they were allies," he said.

安南说：“萨达姆在石油换食品项目之外通过走私获得大量金钱，这是美国和英国都看到的。这两个国家可以予以阻止，而且这两个国家可能知道到底发生了什么。是他们自己决定对伊拉克在土耳其和约旦的走私活动视若无睹，因为他们是盟国。”

The comments drew an immediate⁷ reaction in both London and Washington. British Foreign Secretary Jack⁸ Straw called the charges "inaccurate⁹".

伦敦和华盛顿对安南的言论立即做出回应。英国外相斯特劳称这是不准确的指责。

A State Department official noted¹⁰ that what Mr. Annan was referring to were exemptions¹³ for Turkey and Jordan that had been highly publicized, and made with the full knowledge and understanding of the United Nations.

美国国务院一名官员指出，安南所指的是那些对土耳其和约旦予以的豁免决定，这一直是非常公开的，整个联合国对此完全知情，也了解这种情况。

The official, who spoke¹ on condition of anonymity¹⁴, said anyone who was not aware of the exemptions had not been paying attention. He said it was a "red herring" to try now and claim that this was some shocking new revelation.

这名不愿透露姓名的官员说，任何不知道豁免事宜的人都是不关心这件事的人。他说，现在试图把这些东西称作令人震惊的新发现，这是在转移人们的视线。

The U.S. mission to the United Nations Friday sent U.N. correspondents a transcript¹⁵ of a Congressional hearing earlier this week at which the Turkish and Jordanian exemptions were explained in detail.

美国驻联合国代表团星期五发给各国驻联合国记者们一份本星期早些时候国会听证会的记录。在那次听证会上，对于土耳其和约旦的豁免决定进行了详细的解释。

Spokesman Richard Grennell said the mission's reaction to the smuggling allegations was the same as it has been for some time.

美国代表团发言人格伦耐尔说，代表团对走私指控的态度一直没有改变。

"There's a fundamental difference between oil smuggling, illegal oil smuggling that was done under the table and behind closed doors, and the very public process that the American government went through to exempt¹¹ certain countries. Don't forget that this exemption¹² came before the oil-for-food program was even established," he noted.

他说：“石油非法走私和美国政府同意豁免的某些国家的公开行为有着本质的区别。非法的石油走私是桌子下面和门背后的行为。别忘了豁免决定是在石油换食品计划之前做出的。”

Asked to explain Mr. Annan's comments, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said the secretary-general had thought he was speaking off the record.

当有人要求联合国发言人埃克哈德解释安南的言论时，他说， 秘书长当时以为自己的发言是不供引用的。

"It was my fault,” said Mr. Eckhard. “I didn't tell him that the UN TV camera was on and everyone in the building was listening to his remarks. He thought he was talking to a private seminar."

他说：“这是我的错，我没有告诉他联合国电视网的摄像机正在录像，联合国大楼里的每个人都在听他的发言。他以为他是在一个私人研讨会上讲话。”

The oil-for-food program ran from 1996 to 2003. It allowed Saddam Hussein's government to sell oil to buy critical supplies for Iraqi civilians¹⁶ at a time when the country was under a U.N. economic embargo¹⁷.

石油换食品计划从1996年到2003年间实施，该计划允许萨达姆政权在联合国经济制裁期间可以出售石油以便为伊拉克人民换取生活必需品。

Investigators¹⁸ say, however, that Saddam's regime made billions of dollars in illegal profits, both by corrupting¹⁹ the humanitarian²⁰ program and through illegal oil sales totaling as much as 20 billion dollars.

调查人员说，但是萨达姆政权从中赚取了数百亿美元的非法利益。他们通过腐蚀人道主义项目和非法出售石油获利200亿美元。

Mr. Annan has been harshly criticized for U.N. mismanagement of the program, and for his son's involvement with a key oil-for-food program contractor²¹. One U.S. Senator has repeatedly called on the secretary-general to step down.

安南由于对该计划管理不当和他儿子同一名石油换食品计划中的主要合同商有瓜葛而受到了严厉的谴责。美国参议员科尔曼多次要求安南下台。

But in what he thought were off-the-record comments Thursday, Mr. Annan bristled²² at the criticisms, which he called politically biased²³ and ideologically²⁴ inspired. He told the media seminar he sees the oil-for-food scandal as largely "an American story." He said in the rest of the world, there is still a lot of respect and enthusiasm for the world body and what it does.

但是在安南以为不会被引用的星期四的发言中， 他对这些指控义愤填膺。他说，这些指责是政治歧视，是受到意识形态的支配。他告诉媒体研讨会，石油换食品丑闻完全是“美国编造的故事”。他说，在世界的其他地方，许多国家尊重和热情对待联合国以及它的所作所为。
 
 

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

3 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

4 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

5 interdiction   

n.禁止；封锁

参考例句：

• the Customs Service's drug interdiction programs 海关的毒品查禁方案
• In addition to patrol duty, blastboats are dispatched for planetary defense and interdiction missions. 除了例行巡逻，炮艇还被赋予行星防御和封锁的任务。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

9 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

12 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

13 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网

14 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

15 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

16 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

17 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

18 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 corrupting   

（使）败坏( corrupt的现在分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏

参考例句：

• It would be corrupting discipline to leave him unpunished. 不惩治他会败坏风纪。
• It would be corrupting military discipline to leave him unpunished. 不惩治他会败坏军纪。

20 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

21 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

22 bristled   

adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• They bristled at his denigrating description of their activities. 听到他在污蔑他们的活动，他们都怒发冲冠。
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。

23 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

24 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。