我将于周六与我的海湾战争老战友们一同前往华盛顿，出席“沙漠盾牌”和“沙漠风暴”纪念碑的落成仪式。我们的征程始于1990年8月5日星期日，即萨达姆·侯赛因领导的伊拉克入侵科威特三天后，当时老布什总统站在白宫草坪上宣称：“这绝不能容忍——这种对科威特的侵略行径。”我当时有幸担任营指挥官，在布什总统讲话后不久，率领约700名士兵从德国奔赴中东。
I will join my fellow Gulf War veterans in Washington on Saturday for the dedication of the Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial. Our journey began Sunday, Aug. 5, 1990, three days after Saddam Hussein’s Iraq invaded Kuwait, when President George H.W. Bush stood on the White House lawn and declared, “This will not stand — this aggression against Kuwait.”I was privileged to have been a battalion commander then and, soon after Bush’s speech, led roughly 700 soldiers from Germany to the Middle East.
地面战役结束时，我所在部队控制了连接科威特城与巴士拉的所谓“死亡公路”，此前我们刚完成著名的“左钩拳”机动深入伊拉克境内。这个周末，我期待见到许多当年的部下——其中有些人我已有30多年未见——但我担心，我对士兵们英勇表现和战功的自豪感，将因我认为国家自那场冲突以来所失去的东西而有所减损。
At the end of the ground campaign, my unit was astride the so-called Highway of Death that connects Kuwait City to Basra following the famous “left hook” into Iraq. This weekend, I am looking forward to seeing many of my men — some of whom I have not seen for more than 30 years — but I fear my pride in my soldiers’ bravery and accomplishments will be tempered by what I believe the nation has lost since that conflict.
1990年，我对士兵们说，美国的利益以及我们的价值观——民主、自由、正义和对国际法的尊重——是我们部署的基础。我们部署是为了保卫并解放一个主权国家，使其免受极权主义伊拉克政府的侵略。我们的做法与二战时父辈们一致，当时美军帮助欧洲摆脱了法西斯占领。
I told my soldiers in 1990 that American interests as well as our values — democracy, freedom, justice and respect for international law — were the basis for our deployment. We deployed to defend and liberate a sovereign nation from aggression by a totalitarian Iraqi government. Our approach was the same as our parents’ in World War II, when American soldiers helped free Europe from fascist occupation.
但鉴于唐纳德·特朗普总统对待乌克兰及其持续抵抗俄罗斯侵略的方式，长期以来指导我国国家安全政策的民主价值观似乎已不再相关，美国军力的运用现在仅基于经济利益的冷酷核算。美国不再支持那些遭受侵略的国家，哪怕它们是初建的民主国家，反而与极权主义国家站在了一起。
But based on how President Donald Trump has approached Ukraine and its ongoing efforts to resist Russian aggression, it appears that the democratic values that have long guided our national security policy are no longer relevant, and the use of U.S. military power is now based solely on the cold calculation of economic gain. The United States no longer supports nations, even fledgling democracies, that are the victims of aggression, but aligns itself with totalitarian states.
特朗普政府近期的决定不仅违背美国价值观，更是美国国家安全政策未来的一个分水岭。国务卿马尔科·鲁比奥在9月证实，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京已获邀出席12月在迈阿密举行的二十国集团峰会。特朗普政府还提议解冻欧洲的俄罗斯资产，以鼓励莫斯科参与和谈。欧洲和亚洲领导人对这些决定感到惊讶、震惊、愤怒并予以严厉批评，这些决定实际上旨在使与俄罗斯的经济关系正常化。
Recent decisions by the Trump administration are not only contrary to American values but a watershed for the future of U.S. national security policy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in September that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been invited to attend December’s Group of 20 summit in Miami. The Trump administration has also proposed unfreezing Russian assets in Europe to encourage Moscow to participate in peace talks. European and Asian leaders were surprised, shocked, upset and deeply critical of these decisions, which effectively seek to normalize economic relations with Russia.
特朗普于10月9日表示，他与普京通过电话交谈，并达成协议，由俄罗斯向美国和全球市场供应超过30万吨柴油。这相当于为俄罗斯战争机器提供40亿美元资金。总统称这笔交易将降低柴油价格——并将此处燃油成本上涨归咎于乌克兰——但残酷的现实是，特朗普只是试图在中期选举前最后几天吸引美国选民。能源专家几乎一致认为，该协议对燃油成本的影响将有限，而燃油成本飙升的压倒性驱动因素是总统与伊朗的对抗。
Trump said on Oct. 9 that he and Putin had talked on the phone and reached an agreement for Russia to supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to U.S. and global markets. This translates into $4 billion for the Russian war machine. The president said this deal would lower diesel prices — and he blamed Ukraine for the rise in fuel costs here — but it is brutally clear that Trump is simply trying to appeal to American voters in the final days before the midterm elections. Energy experts are nearly unanimous that this agreement will have a limited impact on the cost of fuel and that the overwhelming driver for skyrocketing fuel costs is the president’s war with Iran.
该协议遭到美国盟友以及国会两党领袖的谴责。10月11日，特朗普在其社交媒体平台上宣布单方面实施“能源停火”。他称俄乌之间的停火“即时生效”，双方同意停止袭击能源基础设施。但乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基随后指出，基辅是通过媒体报道得知这一所谓停火的，且在特朗普宣布后，俄军随即继续袭击乌克兰电力设施。
The agreement has been condemned by U.S. allies as well as congressional leaders on both side of the aisle. On Oct. 11, Trump announced a unilateral “energy ceasefire” on his social media platform. He said that the truce between Russia and Ukraine was “effective immediately” and that both parties had agreed to halt strikes on energy infrastructure. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy subsequently noted that Kyiv learned of the purported truce through media reports, and Russian forces continued striking Ukrainian power facilities immediately following Trump’s announcement.
随后，总统宣称俄罗斯“在乌克兰问题上表现良好”，辩称乌克兰应对战争持续负主要责任，指责泽连斯基忘恩负义，并呼吁将其替换。与此同时，其政府尚未解释为何中断乌克兰对SpaceX“星盾”系统的使用，该系统为基辅提供关键情报，涵盖来袭的俄罗斯弹道导弹和喷气式无人机，以及指挥控制功能。随着俄罗斯持续不懈的轰炸，乌克兰平民伤亡增加。《华尔街日报》援引美国官员消息，于周四报道称，总统曾致电SpaceX首席执行官埃隆·马斯克，要求解除这些限制。
The president subsequently declared that Russia “has been fine on Ukraine,” argued that Ukraine was largely responsible for the continuation of the war, accused Zelenskyy of ingratitude and called for him to be replaced. At the same time, his administration hasn’t explained the disruption of Ukraine’s use of SpaceX’s Starshield, which provides Kyiv with critical intelligence on both incoming Russian ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones as well as command and control. An increase in Ukrainian civilian casualties followed as Russia continued its relentless bombardment. The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, reported Thursday that the president had called SpaceX chief Elon Musk to have those restrictions lifted.
特朗普豁免了根据所谓的“格雷厄姆法案”对俄罗斯政府、寡头和公司以及购买俄罗斯能源的国家实施新制裁，该法案以纪念南卡罗来纳州参议员林赛·格雷厄姆命名。总统辩称与俄罗斯的谈判正在进行，他不“想做任何会愚蠢地把俄罗斯赶离谈判桌的事”。正如布什于1990年8月8日在椭圆形办公室向全国发表讲话时所言：“绥靖政策行不通。”历史证明了他的话。
Trump has waived the imposition of new sanctions against the Russian government, oligarchs and companies as well as nations purchasing Russian energy consistent with the so-called Graham Act, named in memory of the South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham. The president argued that negotiations with Russia were ongoing, and he did not “want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table.”As Bush told the nation from the Oval Office on Aug. 8, 1990, “Appeasement does not work.”History bears him out.
确实，布什政府在阻止萨达姆占领科威特时也在维护经济利益。国务卿詹姆斯·贝克辩称，允许伊拉克控制波斯湾这一关键经济命脉将引发全球衰退，进而导致美国失业。然而，布什政府并未像特朗普现在对普京所做的那样，试图通过与萨达姆达成协议以获取美国经济利益来避免战争。
It is true that the Bush administration was also pursuing economic interests in thwarting Saddam’s occupation of Kuwait. Secretary of State James Baker argued that allowing Iraq to control the crucial economic lifeline of the Persian Gulf would trigger a worldwide recession and subsequent American job losses. Yet the Bush administration didn’t seek to avoid war by pursuing an agreement with Saddam for American economic advantage, like Trump is doing with Putin.
特朗普自第二任期伊始起，对乌克兰表现出令人担忧的缺乏支持，他很可能因未能兑现竞选承诺在24小时内结束战争而感到沮丧。特朗普政府不再将乌克兰视为侵略的受害者，而是将其视为总统对普京的钦佩及渴望与俄罗斯加强经济合作的障碍。特朗普似乎认为这将是一笔经济大买卖。美国国家安全政策如今变得纯粹交易化，且毫无价值观可言。
Trump has shown a problematic lack of support for Ukraine since the outset of his second term, and he is likely frustrated by his failure to deliver on his campaign promise to end the war in 24 hours. The Trump administration is no longer treating Ukraine as a victim of aggression but as an obstacle to the president’s admiration for Putin and desire for closer economic cooperation with Russia. Trump seems to believe this would be an economic bonanza. American national security policy is now transactional and bereft of values.
奇怪的是，截至周五上午，尚未公布谁将在周六海湾战争纪念碑揭幕仪式上致辞。我推测总统及其政府高层官员忙于竞选活动。从某种程度上说，我希望他们确实太忙了，因为我担心总统会试图将本应向“沙漠风暴”行动老兵致敬的日子变成竞选集会。但如果他出席，或许对他有益。我们将聚集在距离二战、越战和朝战纪念碑不远、也不远离林肯纪念堂的地方。伫立于此，让人反思我国珍视的价值观。
Oddly, as of Friday morning, there had been no announcement about who would speak at the dedication of the Gulf War memorial on Saturday. I suspect the president and senior members of his administration are too busy campaigning. In some ways, I hope they are too busy, because I fear the president would attempt to turn a day set aside to honor Desert Storm veterans into a campaign rally. But if he shows up, it may do him some good. We’ll gather a short distance from memorials dedicated to World War II, Vietnam and Korea, and not far from the Lincoln Memorial. To stand in that space is to reflect on the values our nation holds dear.