【全浸阅读】911的后世界
【全浸阅读】911的后世界
全浸阅读=Total Immerse Dynamic eReading=TIDE
➤Leader
America and the world
The real lessons from 9/11
America risks swinging from hubris to muddle
*swing from hubris[proud] to muddle[to confuse]
P1
TWENTY YEARS ago America set out toreshape the world order after the attacks of September 11th. Today it is easy to conclude that its foreign policy has been abandoned on a runway at Kabul airport. President Joe Biden says the exit from Afghanistan was about “ending an era” of distant wars, but it has left America’s allies distraught and its enemies gleeful. Most Americans are tired of it all: roughly two-thirds say the war wasn’t worth it. Yet the national mood of fatigue and apathy is a poor guide to America’s future role in the world. Its capabilities remain formidable and its strategy can be retooled for the 21st century, provided the right lessons are drawn from the post-9/11 era.
*set out reshape the world order 意气风发
*be abandoned on a runway at Kabul airport 华容道真实写照
*has left A's allies distraught and its enemies gleeful 亲者痛仇者快
*most are tired of it all: the war wasn't worth it 有几场war是worth的？
*the national mood of fatigue and apathy: 机构也有mood
*is a poor guide to future role in the world
*its capabilities remain formidable and its strategy can be retooled
余威犹存
*provided the right lessons are drawn from
provided是一个留一手抖包袱的好词
✍
想当年： 老夫聊发少年狂，左牵黄，右穹苍
看当下：看前方道路黑洞洞 听后方马蹄滴答答
P1：still workable provided the right lessons learned
P2
The murder of 3,000 people on American soil provoked a reaction that highlighted America’s “unipolar moment”. For a while, it appeared to have uncontested power. President George W. Bush declared that the world was either with America or against it. NATO said the assault on the twin towers was an attack on all its members. Vladimir Putin pledged Russian military co-operation; Condoleezza Rice, then the national security adviser, called this the real end of the cold war. The ease with which American-led forces routed the Taliban seemed to augur a new kind of light-touch warfare: 63 days after September 11th, Kabul fell. There have been enduring achievements since then. Counter-terrorism efforts have improved: Osama bin Laden is dead and no remotely comparable attack on America has succeeded. Lower Manhattan has been rebuilt in style.
*unipolar moment
The unipolar moment means that with the close of the century's three great Northern civil wars (World War I, World War II and the Cold War) an ideologically pacified North seeks security and order by aligning its foreign policy behind that of the United States.
*uncontested power-可以用来形容中国乒乓球队
*seem to augur[be a sign of] a new kind of light-touch warfare
light-touch: low input and low involvement
✍P1：still workable provided the right lessons learned
✍P2：for a while it had a uncontested power
P3
But for the most part the legacy of the response to September 11th has been a bitter one. The mission to crush al-Qaeda morphed into a desire for regime change and nation-building that delivered unconvincing results in Afghanistan and Iraq, at a huge human and fiscal cost. Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction were a mirage. America broke its taboo on torture and lost the moral high ground. The initial, illusory, sense of clarity about when it should intervene militarily faded into indecision, for example over Syria’s use of chemical weapons in 2013. At home the spirit of unity quickly evaporated and America’s toxic divisions mocked its claim to have a superior form of government. The mire in the Middle East has been a distraction from the real story of the early 21st century, the rise of China.
*the legacy of the response...has been a bitter one莲子心苦
*morphed[image change] into a desire for regime change and nation-building
*deliver unconvincing results at a huge human and fiscal cost
*mirage[illusion]
*broke its taboo on torture and lost the high ground
*the initial, illusory, sense of clarity about...
*intervene militarily
*faded into indecision
*the spirit of unity quickly evaporated
*toxic divisions mocked its claim to have a superior form of government
*the mire[an area of deep mud]
一步步走出来的败局
✍P1：still workable provided the right lessons learned
✍P2：for a while it had a uncontested power
✍P3：the legacy is a bitter one
P4
Mr Biden’s debacle in Kabul makes a grim epilogue. Some will see in it proof not only of American incompetence, but also of decline. That is going too far. The fall of Saigon did not lead to the West losing the cold war. And for all America’s flaws—its divisions, debts and decrepit infrastructure—many facets of its power are intact. Its share of global GDP, at 25%, is roughly what it was in the 1990s. It is still technologically and militarily pre-eminent. Although public opinion has turned inwards, America’s interests are far more global than during its isolationist phase in the 1930s. With 9m citizens abroad, 39m jobs supported by trade and $33trn of foreign assets, it has a strong interest in an open world.
*debacle[a complete failure]
*makes a grim[sounding serious/unpleasant] epilogue[ending conclusion]
*see it in proof not only of...but also of...
*American incompetence
*going too far
*decrepit(ropy, not in good conditions) infrastructure
*And for all A's flows, many facets of its power are intact(not damage)
*technologically and militarily pre-eminent
*public opinion has turned inwards
*A's interests are far more global vs it has a strong interest in an open world
✍P1：still workable provided the right lessons learned
✍P2：for a while it had a uncontested power
✍P3：the legacy is a bitter one
✍P4：flaw but power intact
P5
Its foreign policy shifted under Barack Obama, who tried a “pivot” to Asia and to scale back the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Donald Trump’s detour into bombast and transactional dealmaking was a disaster, though he helped end America’s illusions about China. Mr Biden is well qualified to pick up the pieces, with long experience in foreign affairs and advisers who are crafting a Biden doctrine. Its goals are to end the forever wars, complete the pivot to Asia, tackle new spheres such as cyber-security and rebuild global alliances.
*pivot[the central point]
*scale back[shrink ]
*detour into bombast and transactional dealmaking
*end illusions about...
*well qualified to pick up the pieces
*craft-get skills needed for a particular activity
*tackle[make determined effort to deal with difficulty] new spheres
✍P1：still workable provided the right lessons learned
✍P2：for a while it had a uncontested power
✍P3：the legacy is a bitter one
✍P4：flaw but power intact
✍P5：Biden is well qualified to pick up the pieces
P6
The Economist supports much of this agenda, not least the emphasis on 21st-century priorities such as climate change. The administration’s attitude to women’s rights is better than its predecessor’s, and that could affect geopolitics more than most people realise. But important elements of the Biden doctrine are worryingly fuzzy. The abandoning of Afghanistan has angered allies, who were barely consulted. A confrontational approach to China may blur the focus on climate change.
*not least the emphasis on
*are (worryingly) fuzzy(unclear)
*has anger allies, who were barely consulted
*confrontational approach to
*blur the focus on
✍P1：still workable provided the right lessons learned
✍P2：for a while it had a uncontested power
✍P3：the legacy is a bitter one
✍P4：flaw but power intact
✍P5：Biden is well qualified to pick up the pieces
✍P6：Direction is supported yet important elments fuzzy
P7
Overarching the doctrine is an insistence that foreign policy must serve America’s middle class. “Every action we take in our conduct abroad, we must take with American working families in mind,” he has said. Trade, climate and China are simultaneously domestic and foreign concerns. In one sense this is obvious: all countries act in their long-run self-interest, and strength at home is a prerequisite of strength abroad. However, the impulse to make decisions about the world to please a domestic audience is already causing problems.
*overarch[on the top of importantce/priority] the doctrine
*strength at home is a prerequisite of strength abroad(家强国强？攘外必先安内？）
*the impluse to make decisions about the world to please a domestic audience“欲寄君衣君不还，不寄君衣君又寒，寄于不寄间，妾身两为难。”
✍P1：still workable provided the right lessons learned
✍P2：for a while it had a uncontested power
✍P3：the legacy is a bitter one
✍P4：flaw but power intact
✍P5：Biden is well qualified to pick up the pieces
✍P6：Direction is supported yet important elments fuzzy
✍P7：to please a demostic audience is already causing problems
P8
In Afghanistan an artificial deadline for withdrawal (by September 11th) was fixed to please voters at home, and a decision to remove all troops ignored the reality that a modest American garrison could have stopped the Taliban from taking over. On covid-19, America has missed the chance to lead a global vaccination campaign that would have won it gratitude and goodwill and demonstrated American prowess.
*ignored the reality
*garrison[a group of soldiers]敢死队
*won it gratitude and goodwill and demonstrated A prowess[great skills]
✍P1：still workable provided the right lessons learned
✍P2：for a while it had a uncontested power
✍P3：the legacy is a bitter one
✍P4：flaw but power intact
✍P5：Biden is well qualified to pick up the pieces
✍P6：Direction is supported yet important elments fuzzy
✍P7：to please a demostic audience is already causing problems
✍P8：flaw in the withdrawal, and missed chance in pandemic
P9
The risk is that Mr Biden’s domestic bias could make his foreign policy less effective. America needs to find a new way to co-exist with C, with rivalry and co-operation in different areas. Yet Mr Biden’s C policy is remarkably like Mr Trump’s, with an ad-hoc array of tariffs in place and rhetoric about a zero-sum contest. He knows that hostility to C is one of the few things that unites Congress and the public: 45% of Americans view China as America’s greatest enemy, up from 14% in 2001.
*domestic bias
*with rivalry and co-operation in different areas
*ad-hoc array of tariffs in place and rhetoric about a zero-sum contest
ad-hoc:in a way that is arranged or happens when necessary and is not planned in advance
rhetoric:speech or writing that is intended to influence people, but that is not completely honest or sincere
✍P1：still workable provided the right lessons learned
✍P2：for a while it had a uncontested power
✍P3：the legacy is a bitter one
✍P4：flaw but power intact
✍P5：Biden is well qualified to pick up the pieces
✍P6：Direction is supported yet important elments fuzzy
✍P7：to please a demostic audience is already causing problems
✍P8：flaw in the withdrawal, and missed chance in pandemic
✍P9：need to find a new way to co-exist with C
P10
America still needs to be prepared to use military power to protect human rights abroad. Mr Biden has come close to ruling this out. The world’s despots may have noticed. Mr Biden rightly aims to revive America’s alliances, which multiply its influence. Yet his protectionism hurts allies, from America-first public contracts to $50bn of semiconductor subsidies. His administration shows little interest in a comprehensive Asian trade deal that would counter China.
*rule out
*despots[a ruler with great power, especially one who uses it in a cruel way]
*revive[make strong/healthy] American's alliance
*which multify its influence
✍P1：still workable provided the right lessons learned
✍P2：for a while it had a uncontested power
✍P3：the legacy is a bitter one
✍P4：flaw but power intact
✍P5：Biden is well qualified to pick up the pieces
✍P6：Direction is supported yet important elments fuzzy
✍P7：to please a demostic audience is already causing problems
✍P8：flaw in the withdrawal, and missed chance in pandemic
✍P9：need to find a new way to co-exist with C
✍P10：intend to revive alliances but protectism hurts allies
P11
Foreign policy is guided by events as much as by strategy: Mr Bush ran on a platform of compassionate conservatism, not a war on terror. Mr Biden must improvise in response to an unruly age. But he should not imagine that a foreign policy subordinate to fraught domestic politics will revitalise America’s claim to lead the world.■
*is guided by events as much as by strategy 赵括谈兵
*improvise in response to an unruly age
improvise:to make or do something using whatever is available, usually because you do not have what you really need
*fraught[causing or feeling anxiety] vs worryingly fuzzy
✍P1：still workable provided the right lessons learned
✍P2：for a while it had a uncontested power
✍P3：the legacy is a bitter one
✍P4：flaw but power intact
✍P5：Biden is well qualified to pick up the pieces
✍P6：Direction is supported yet important elments fuzzy
✍P7：to please a demostic audience is already causing problems
✍P8：flaw in the withdrawal, and missed chance in pandemic
✍P9：need to find a new way to co-exist with C
✍P10：intend to revive alliances but protectism hurts allies
✍P11：illusion/mirage/should not image:
a foreign policy subordinate to fraught domestic politics will revitalise A's claim to lead the world
*Compassionate Conservatism
is a strand of the conservative political philosophy which states that through the use of traditional conservative political beliefs, the general welfare of society with improve.Perhaps the greatest use of compassionate conservatism occurred under the Presidency of George W Bush who stated that “It is compassionate to actively help out citizens in need. It is conservative to insist on accountability and results”
However, the belief is often criticised for sugar coating a harsh conservative approach to government. In 1999 President Bill Clinton gave a scathing attack on compassionate conservatism in which he summarised the approach of saying conservatives ‘would like to do something, but they can’t’. This was followed up Tony Blair who said in the House of Commons by saying ‘compassionate conservatism will tell you that they are not going to help you, but that they are really sorry about it”.
The term fell into decline with the end of the Bush administration in 2009, eclipsed by the Tea Party era of radical right wing conservatism.
