Complications on U.S. Road to War

　　【参考译文】美国在求战之路上面临纷繁芜杂的局面

　　【注释】complication,“使情况更加复杂或困难的事物”：A further complication was Fred's refusal to travel by air.更麻烦的是弗雷德不肯坐飞机。而复数形式的complications,是“并发症”的意思，如：Complications set in, and the patient died.病人因出现并发症而死亡。

　　WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On the verge of war in Iraq, the Bush administration finds its goals complicated by its own uncompromising approach as it builds a legacy that could do long-term damage to NATO, the United Nations and U.S. leadership, diplomats and analysts say.

　　【参考译文】华盛顿(路透社)-外交官和分析人士表示，在对伊开战一触即发之际，布什政府发现这一目标已被自身毫不退让的行事方式弄得错综复杂起来，而此时美国政府的所做所为会对北约、联合国和美国的领导地位造成长期的损害。

　　【注释】on the verge of:在某事即将发生之际。类似的表达还有on the brink of, on the edge of, on the threshold of, on the point of (doing something). uncompromising,“不妥协的,不让步的,强硬的”：uncompromising stand/beliefs,坚定的立场/信仰。legacy,“遗产，遗留物”，这里是着眼于对日后的影响，所以用了这个字眼。

　　Such criticism, made in the heat of rhetorical struggle over Iraq policy and vigorously rejected by administration officials, could well be revised if war against Baghdad is quick and reasonably successful.

　　【参考译文】值此围绕对伊政策各方展开激烈的唇枪舌剑之际，类似这样的批评遭到政府官员的强烈反对，不过倘若战争进展迅速且战果显著，也许就会有另一番迥然不同的评论。

　　【注释】heat,“the most intense or active stage，最强烈或最活跃的阶段”：He tried to take the heat out of the situation.他竭力让局面缓和下来。rhetorical,“辞藻华丽的，虚夸的”：Don't be so rhetorical - just tell us what you mean in plain English.不要这么夸张，就用平实的英语告诉我们你的意思。相应的名词形式是rhetoric,“浮夸之词，华丽辞藻”：The politician's speech was full of empty rhetoric.这位政治家的演讲满是空洞无物的华丽言辞。

　　But as it works to maximize world support in the countdown to military action against Saddam Hussein and to isolate North Korea, the United States finds itself nearly as much on the defensive as the "axis of evil" regimes it seeks to curtail.

　　【参考译文】不过，正当美国在针对萨达姆-侯赛因的军事行动倒计时中努力争取最大限度的国际支持和孤立朝鲜的时候，美国发觉自己几乎和它所寻求削弱的“邪恶轴心”政权一样处于防守态势。

　　【注释】maximize,“使最大化”，其反义词是minimize,“使最小化”。countdown,“倒计时”，引申为“准备工作，准备过程”，这里的翻译还是采用了形象的“倒计时”，注意这个词常和介词to连用。on the defensive ,“expecting to be attacked or criticized进行防御，采取守势”：Talk about boy-friends always puts her on the defensive.一谈到男朋友，她总是戒心十足。curtail,“缩短，削减”，这里用的是比喻义。

　　……

　　NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said the dispute over whether to give Turkey equipment to defend itself against Iraq showed alliance disarray but was not a mortal blow.

　　【参考译文】北约秘书长乔治-罗伯逊说，有关是否为土耳其提供防御伊拉克打击的武器装备的争论显示了盟国内部的混乱，但并不构成致命的打击。

　　【注释】disarray, "杂乱的状态；混乱",与之意义相近的有disorder, confusion, chaos, muddle, huddle, snarl等。

　　Kupchan (European expert) was more pessimistic, doubting NATO would survive the crisis and warning that Washington's failure to win U.N. support for military action would be a "historical turning point that would ... deal a powerful blow to the U.N., (erode) the West as a coherent political entity…and risk the United States' international political legitimacy."

　　【参考译文】库珀臣(欧洲问题专家)表现的更为悲观，他对北约能否度过这场危机表示怀疑，并警告说如果华盛顿不能赢得联合国对其军事行动的支持，那将是“一个历史性的转折点，将是对联合国的一次沉重打击，减弱西方作为一个统一的政治实体的地位…并动摇美国在国际政治中的合法性。”

　　【注释】deal a blow to sb/sth,打击某人/某事物：

　　The latest trade figures have dealt a severe blow to hopes of an early economic recovery.

　　最新的贸易数字对尽早复苏经济的期望是个严重的打击。　

　　legitimacy,“正当，合理性，合法性”，其形容词形式是legitimate，它还有“合法婚姻所生的”之意，所以“私生儿”就是illegitimate child.