奥巴马之行显示他在欧洲备受欢迎

U.S. President Barack Obama is in Britain with his wife Michelle on a state visit aimed at strengthening the longtime "special relationship" between Britain and the United States. At a news conference in London, Obama and Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron said the relationship is special and essential.

美国总统奥巴马正在英国进行国事访问，此行目的是为了加强美英两国长期以来的特殊关系。在伦敦举行的记者会上，奥巴马和英国首相卡梅伦都表示，两国的关系既特殊又关键。

During a joint news conference, Obama described the relationship as “stronger than it has ever been” and Cameron said the two men see “eye to eye” on a range of issues.

在联合记者会上，奥巴马形容两国有“历来最牢固”的关系。卡梅伦首相说，他和奥巴马在许多议题上“看法完全一致”。

Analyst Xenia Dormandy, of the London-based research group Chatham House, said during the course of the past 15 years, the United States and Britain have, to some extent, taken one another for granted. She said they have not thought deeply enough about how to make the most out of their relationship.

设在伦敦的研究机构查塔姆研究所的分析员齐尼亚.多尔曼迪说，过去15年里，美国和英国在某种程度上，把依赖对方视为理所当然。她说，两国还没有深入思考应该如何把他们的关系作最好的发挥。

But, she said, Obama’s state visit has shown that both sides realize they need to be more strategic about how they think about that bond.

但是多尔曼迪说，奥巴马的国事访问显示出，双方意识到他们需要在如何看待双方关系方面更具有策略性。

"I think what you are seeing today, yesterday, is a change," said Dormandy. "You are seeing both sides wake up to the fact that if they want to achieve any of the objectives that they mutually hold, they need to do it in close collaboration. They need to work effectively together and that means they need to think strategically about their problems together, rather than doing so independently."

她说：“我认为，我们今天看到的，和过去比较，就是一种改变。我们看到英美双方醒悟到一个现实，那就是，如果他们想要达成双方共有的目标，他们就必须密切合作。 他们必须有效率的携手合作，也就是，双方需要战略性的思考他们的问题，而不是各自埋头苦干。”

She said the United States is an economic and military powerhouse in a way that Britain is not. On the other hand, she said, Britain has some strong historical relationships with a number of countries that the United States does not. And Britain, she said, has so-called “soft power” that the United States might have been lacking in recent years.

分析员多尔曼迪说，美国是经济和军事强国，在某种程度上英国却不是。另一方面，英国和一些国家具有牢固的历史关系，但是美国没有。多尔曼迪说，英国有所谓的软实力，而美国近年来已经缺乏这种软实力。

"So what they need to work out is, 'Where is it that the U.K. can bring some of the soft power, some of the legitimacy to the table and work in conjunction with maybe America's economic strength and in terms of the military?'"

她说，“美英需要努力思考英国拥有的一些软实力和合法性在那里？应该如何把这些力量同美国的经济和军事优势结合在一起。”

That kind of collaboration is important, she said, when trying to address a range of issues, including the ongoing war in Afghanistan, political upheaval in Middle East and North Africa, and the global economy.

多尔曼迪认为，美英两国在试图解决包括持续中的阿富汗战争，中东和北非的政治动乱，以及全球经济等种种问题时，这种协作就很重要。London School of Economics International Relations Professor Michael Cox said the United States is increasingly working to build ties with emerging economies, namely in Asia. But he said that does not change the strong U.S. affinity with European countries.

伦敦经济学院的国际关系教授迈克尔考克斯说，美国越来越致力于同新兴经济体，尤其是亚洲，建立关系。但是考克斯说，这并没有改变美国和欧洲国家的牢固联系。

"It is not just a partner, it is also a long standing ally," he said. "We are members of NATO, in the majority. We are members of the European Union, with which the United States has very good relations. We are democracies. We actually look at the world, if not exactly in an identical manner to an American President, this one in particular, but we look at it in broadly similar terms."

他说：“这不只是伙伴，还是长期盟友的关系。我们是北约成员国，而且欧洲大部分国家是欧盟成员国，欧盟和美国关系非常好。我们是民主国家，事实上，我们对世界的看法，即使不完全与美国总统，特别是奥巴马总统的看法完全一致，但是我们在很大范围内，我们是用类似的角度来看的。”

Cox said the United States’ reputation in Europe was hit during the presidency of George Bush, and Obama’s election was received with a certain sense of euphoria on the continent.

考克斯教授说，乔治W布什总统任内，美国在欧洲的声望大跌，奥巴马当选总统则让欧洲人感到快慰。

He said some have been disappointed, hoping Obama would, for example, take stronger action on climate change and exercise more “soft power.” Cox said the continued existence of Guantanamo Bay and the recent killing of Osama Bin Laden also were met with disappointment from some corners.

他说，有些人对奥巴马感到失望，因为他们希望奥巴马在气候变迁等方面采取更强硬的措施，并且运用更多的软实力。考克斯说，关塔那摩湾监狱仍然存在，以及不久前击毙本拉登，都让某些人感到失望。

"I still feel there is a good degree of popular support for Obama amongst European and British publics," he said. "He would get very great receptions here, as he did in Ireland, and no doubt would do in France. As I said to other people in the United States, he might be more popular here in Europe than he is back in the United States, at least for some people."

但是他说：“我仍然觉得欧洲人和英国人相当支持奥巴马。他在英国获得非常光荣的接待，就像他访问爱尔兰时一样。毫无疑问的，法国也会热烈的欢迎他。就像我对其他美国人说的那样，奥巴马在欧洲，比他在美国更受欢迎，至少对某些人是这样。”

This is Obama’s eighth trip to Europe as president.

这是奥巴马担任总统以来第8次访问欧洲。