VOA慢速英语：美国传统盟友对马蒂斯辞职表示担忧

US Allies Worry about Mattis’ Resignation

美国传统盟友对马蒂斯辞职表示担忧

Traditional allies of the United States are expressing concern about the resignation of U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

美国传统盟友对美国国防部长马蒂斯辞职表示担忧。

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Mattis will leave the job in February. The announcement came a day after Trump said that U.S. troops would leave Syria.

美国总统川普周四宣布马蒂斯将于2月份离职。这一消息是在川普表示美国将从叙利亚撤军后的第二天宣布的。

The Defense Department opposed the troop withdrawal.

美国国防部反对撤军。

For several years, U.S.-supported forces in the Middle East have made progress against the Islamic State (IS). Defeating IS forces was just one part of a plan Mattis had for Syria. He wanted to reduce U.S. troop numbers there after successful completion of the three-part plan.

多年来，美国支持的中东势力在打击伊斯兰国上取得了进展。击败伊斯兰国只是马蒂斯制定的叙利亚计划的一部分。他希望在成功完成这项分为三部分的计划之后再减少在那的美军人数。

The president and Mattis disagreed on the issue. They also have different ideas about support for America's traditional alliances. In his resignation letter, Mattis wrote that the United States cannot protect its interests without "showing respect to (our) allies."

川普总统和马蒂斯在这个问题上存在分歧。他们对支持美国传统盟友也有不同看法。马蒂斯在辞职信中写道，如果不尊重我们的盟友，美国就无法保护自己的利益。

Overseas reaction

海外反应

The French Defense Minister Florence Parly spoke about the resignation. She said that French forces were in the Middle East as part of a coalition "led by the Americans." Trump's decision "changes that situation," she added.

法国国防部长帕利谈到了这次辞职。她说，法国军队在中东作为美国领导的盟军的一部分。她补充说，川普的决定改变了这种状况。

Britain's Minister of State for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, wrote that "If allies cannot be relied upon, others are sought to take their place." The social networking website Twitter published his comments.

英国中东国务大臣伯特写道，“如果盟友靠不住，其他人就会取代他们的位置。”社交网站推特发表了他的评论。

Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt tweeted the U.S. move was a "morning of alarm in Europe."

瑞典前总理比尔特在推文中表示，美国此举是“欧洲的起床铃。”

Defense Secretary Mattis is one of the most highly respected members of Trump's foreign policy team. He helped lead the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and later led the U.S. Central Command until he retired in 2013.

国防部长马蒂斯是川普外交政策团队中最受尊重的成员之一。他在2013年协助领导了入侵伊拉克，后来领导了美国中央司令部直到2013年退役。

In his resignation letter to Trump, Mattis wrote that the president should have a Secretary of Defense who agreed with him on foreign policy. He added, "I believe it is right for me to step down from my position."

马蒂斯在写给川普的辞职信中表示，川普总统理应拥有一位更认同其外交政策的国防部长。他补充说，“我认为我辞职是对的。”

In addition to Syria, the two men disagreed about other issues, such the president's decision to pull the United States out of the nuclear deal with Iran. They also have differences of opinion about Russian President Vladimir Putin.

除了叙利亚，两人在其它问题上也有分歧，例如川普决定美国退出同伊朗的核协议。他们对俄罗斯总统普京也有不同看法。

Trump has praised Putin's leadership skills. Mattis believed the Russian president was interfering with Western democracies.

川普曾经赞扬了普京的领导才能。马蒂斯认为，俄罗斯总统是在干涉西方民主国家。

Russia has praised the U.S. decision to withdraw from Syria. In a separate move, Trump ordered the Defense Department to plan to withdraw about 50 percent of the 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. That withdrawal will reportedly begin in January 2019.

俄罗斯称赞了美国撤出叙利亚的决定。在另一项独立的举措中，川普下令国防部要计划撤出驻阿富汗的1.4万名美军中的一半。据报道，撤离将于2019年1月开始。

U.S. congressional reaction

美国国会的反应

Reacting to Mattis' resignation, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was "distressed" that it resulted from "differences (about) America's global leadership."

参议院多数党领袖麦肯奈尔对马蒂斯的辞职作出回应，称他对美国全球领导力的差异感到痛苦。

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she was "shaken" by the resignation and described it as "very serious for our country."

众议院少数党领袖佩洛西表示，她对马蒂斯辞职感到震惊，称这对我们国家来说非常严峻。

"This is scary," tweeted Senator Mark Warner of Virginia. He is the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

弗吉尼亚州参议员华纳发推说：“这太可怕了。”他是参议院情报委员会的民主党负责人。

Trump's decision to leave Syria breaks with one of America's longtime allies, the Kurds. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened in recent days to launch a military operation against U.S.-aided Kurdish militiamen now fighting in northeastern Syria.

川普撤出叙利亚的决定抛弃了美国长期盟友之一的库尔德人。土耳其总统埃尔多安最近几天威胁要对美国支持的在叙利亚东北部作战的库尔德民兵发动军事行动。

I'm Susan Shand.

苏珊·珊德报道。