The Middle East on Biden
拜登擔的中東
Does Obama's choice of running mate mean he's shaping up to be just another
establishment candidate for the White House?
歐巴馬的副手選擇是否代表他即將要改頭換面成為爭奪白宮的主流候選人？
* Khaled Diab
* guardian.co.uk,
* Saturday August 30 2008 16:00 BST
Not one to rest on his laurels, Barack Obama is already delivering on his
promise of change – albeit in the wrong direction. He has changed his image
from that of the sophisticated, sensible and sensitive "outsider" to become
another establishment figure.
歐巴馬不是位戴上桂冠就懈怠的人─他已經在實現他帶來改變的承諾─雖然方向錯誤。
他已經改變了自己多智、理性、敏銳的「圈外人」形象，成為另一位主流代表。
Since his nomination, the formerly progressive senator has taken a sharp turn
to the right, and morphed, in terms of rhetoric at least, into a
"Republican-lite" candidate. With his selection of Joe Biden, who can best be
described as a dovish hawk, the transformation seems complete, as the man
resembles John McCain on foreign policy.
被提名後，這位曾經激進的參議員急速向右靠攏，並蛻變（至少修辭學上）成為
「淡共和黨」候選人。歐巴馬選擇拜登（說好聽點是個鴿羽鷹派，在外交政策上
與馬坎相仿）後，轉型似乎完成。
Although Biden is generally more enlightened and knowledgeable in foreign
policy issues than the Bush administration, there are many parallels that do
not bode so well. He supported the invasion of Iraq and his imperial swagger
and arrogance is unlikely to go down well among ordinary Arabs: "It makes a
lot of sense to change the map of the Middle East," he once said.
雖然拜登大抵上比布希政府在外交政策方面顯得靈通些，但仍有不善的相似性若干。
拜登支持入侵伊拉克，且他的帝國主義的傲慢心態對阿拉伯世界來說不甚友善：他曾說
「改改中東地圖是非常合理的。」
Interestingly, he claimed that: "Building a democracy that is based upon the
notion of the rule of the majority is a disaster for us". But I'm confused,
what other kind of democracy is other?
有趣的是，他宣稱：「基於多數決來建造民主對我們來說是個災難。」但我有些不解：
另外一種民主是哪種？
Unperturbed by the US's dismal record in the region, he talks a lot about
"nation building" and has described Paul Wolfowitz, a major architect of the
Iraq war, as an "idealist". To his credit, Biden has criticised the current
administration's disdain for "soft power", pointing out that: "There is a
need … to establish the soil under which the seeds of liberal democratic
institutions can take root."
完全受美國在當地悲慘的紀錄的影響，拜登談了很多「國家設立」問題，並形容
伊拉克戰爭的主要推手Wolfowitz是個「理想主義者」。拜登也是有批評現在的執政政府
對「軟力量」的忽視，並指出「必須要鋪好泥土才能讓自由民主制度生根。」
Being a political sceptic, I had not expected Obama to challenge
significantly US foreign policy conventions – and I have warned against
inflated expectations that he would somehow bring a "new dawn".
我這個懷疑論者從沒期待歐巴馬會大動作挑戰美國外交政策的傳統─我也警告別太過期待
歐巴馬能神乎其技地生出個「新破曉」。
In the Middle East, opinion is divided over the significance of Biden's
appointment. The general consensus among Arabs is that anyone would be better
than the current Bush administration. An editorial in the Lebanese Daily Star
remarked:
在中東地區，對於拜登這個選擇的看法不一。阿拉伯人大致上的共識是任何人都會比
現在布希政府的好。一則黎巴嫩每日星報社論提到：
The people of the region have endured nearly eight years of Bush's
rudderless policy and ill-advised decisions … Most Arabs are now ready for a
changing of the guard at the White House, regardless of who the American
people might choose ... If the Obama-Biden camp edges ahead in the polls, the
region's leaders had better start preparing themselves for a diplomatic
grilling.
此地人們已經忍受了八年的布希無舵政策以及爛決策...多數阿拉伯人已經準備好看白宮
換一批人馬，不管美國人到底選誰...如果歐巴馬─拜登陣營在民調上領先，此地的
領導人最好開始準備迎接一場外交煎熬。
"[Biden's] views on certain regional issues, such as dividing Iraq along
sectarian lines and his staunch support for Israel, have disappointed Arabs",
a Gulf News editorial observed. "However, they trust that Obama is not a
'war' president. They also recognise that Biden is a sharp foreign policy
man."
「拜登對於一些區域議題的看法，如把伊拉克按照派系界線分一分，以及他對以色列的
強硬支持，都讓阿拉伯人感到失望，」一則波斯灣新聞報社論提到。「但是他們真的
相信歐巴馬不是個「戰爭」總統。他們也知道拜登是個外交政策的內行人。」
Some were less flattering. "Obama's choice of deputy confirms … that the
real change he is after is a personal one: to leap from his seat in the
Senate to the presidential chair", Said Mahyo writes in the Third Power.
一些則不是太好聽。「歐巴馬的副手選擇證實了他所帶來的真實改變是個人的：從自己
的參議員位子跳到總統位子裡」，第三權的Mahyo寫到。
In a rare show of unity, Iraqis from across the political spectrum criticised
Obama's choice because of their opposition to Biden's proposal to divide Iraq
into a loose federation of autonomous states.
伊拉克人罕見地跨黨派同聲批評歐巴馬的選擇，因為他們反對拜登建議把伊拉克分割成
鬆散的自治邦聯組織的提議。
Despite Biden's pro-Israel credentials and his self-described status as a
"Zionist", there remain doubts in Israel, although Israelis have now warmed
more to the Obama ticket. "Biden is a firm supporter of Israel, but the way
he sees the US's role in the Middle East doesn't necessarily reflect
Jerusalem's ideal of the ideal 'American partner'," Natasha Mozgovaya wrote
in Ha'aretz.
雖然拜登支持以色列，且也自己認為自己是個「錫安派」，在以色列仍有若干質疑的
聲音，而以色列已經往歐巴馬靠攏。「拜登堅定支持以色列，但他對美國在中東應該
扮演的角色並非能反映出耶路撒冷理想中的「美國同伴」，Ha'aretz的Natasha
Mozgovaya寫到。
But he seems to tick the right boxes for many American Jews. Speculating on
whether McCain would choose Joe Lieberman, perhaps the best-known Jewish
politician in America, the Jerusalem Post noted: "While Lieberman is a
favourite on the single issue of Israel, [Biden] is more in synch with Jewish
voters on the broad range of domestic and foreign policy issues."
但他似乎對美國猶太人有很大魅力。在預測馬坎可能會選李伯曼（或許是全美最有名
的猶太人）的時候，耶路撒冷郵報指出，「雖然李伯曼是以色列單一議題的首選，
拜登在國內和外交等廣大議題上比較能貼近猶太選民。」
Debra Adler, an American Jew I know who has been involved closely with the
Obama campaign, called Biden a "safe choice" and part of Obama's "attempt to
place himself in the light of practical policy, rather than as the brash
idealist many of us came to love."
我認識的一位在歐巴馬陣營頗為投入的美國猶太人Debra Adler稱呼拜登是個「保險
選擇」，並是歐巴馬部分「希望幫自己打上務實政策的燈光，而非是我們曾經喜歡的
大膽理想家。」
"That's okay by me," she added, "because the brash idealists are never
successful, so I'd like to think that his inner-idealist is driving [him]."
「對我來說沒事，」她說，「因為大膽理想家永遠不會成功，所以我寧願想說是他的
內在理想主義心理在驅使他前進。」
Of course, I realise that Obama's "outsider" image, his skin colour, his
worldview, and even his name could prove to be a losing combination for him.
But this poses the difficult question of how much a leader should follow
popular opinion and various interest groups in order to get elected and how
much he should challenge an unhealthy status quo. Many were hoping that Obama
would have the courage to follow his convictions, and persuade the electorate
to share in his vision.
當然，我知道歐巴馬「圈外人」的形象，他的膚色，他的世界觀，甚至他的名字都可能
是個敗選組合。但是這形成一個重要問題：一位領袖應該要以多少比例跟隨大眾意見
和眾多的利益團體才能夠勝選，以及有多少是他必須要用來挑戰已經生病的現狀。許多人
希望歐巴馬能有勇氣實踐他的信念，並說服選舉人站在他同一邊。
Hopefully, Obama, if elected, will start steering the US along a more
enlightened course. But his presidency is likely to leave unchanged many US
policies – such as the propping up of friendly dictators, the legalised
corporate pillaging of Iraq and the unbalanced approach to the
Israel-Palestinian conflict – that are detrimental to the region's future.
希望歐巴馬（若勝選）能把美國導向更明朗的道路。但他的總統任期大概無法動到
許多會對中東的未來造成傷害的美國政策，如資助友好的獨裁者，在伊拉克的合法
企業掠奪，以及不平衡的以色列─巴勒斯坦衝突的政策。
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/30/usa.barackobama
新聞來源: (需有正確連結)
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※ 編輯: pursuistmi 來自: 220.129.162.124 (08/31 03:26)