Another big hug

　　另类热情拥抱(陈继龙 编译)

　　May 18th 2006 | CAIRO

　　From The Economist print edition

　　“THE United States is a damned country that deserves only to be cursed. It declares its own occupation of our lands legitimate, but brands our resistance as terrorists.” This was not the Libyan leader, Muammar Qaddafi, speaking 20 years ago, when his country was a pariah[1] and he was the butt[2] of international scorn. The words were spoken only last month, by the Libyan parliament's deputy speaker, Ahmed Ibrahim, at a g________① in Tripoli, Libya's capital, to commemorate its bombing by American aircraft in 1986.

　　“美国是一个可恶的国家，理所当然应该受到诅咒。它口口声声说占领我们的国土是合法的，却诬蔑我们的抵抗力量是恐怖分子。”这不是利比亚领导人穆阿迈尔 卡扎菲20前说的，那个时候利比亚是一个世所不容的国家，卡扎菲也被国际间当作嘲弄的对象。这话出自利比亚国会发言人艾哈迈德 易布拉希姆之口，他上个月刚刚在利比亚首都的黎波里举行的一次集会上说了这番话。此次集会旨在纪念1986年美国飞机轰炸利比亚事件。

　　Mr Ibrahim's stridency[3] was, perhaps, inspired by America's decision, in March, to keep Libya on its official list of state sponsors of terrorism, a dubious distinction it has held since 1979. All the more striking, then, that the American administration should have decided, this week, to restore full diplomatic relations.

　　易布拉希姆的话之所以如此不中听，可能是因为今年3月美国决定继续将利比亚列入官方的“支持恐怖主义国家”名单——从1979年起，利比亚就开始享有此项有争议的“殊荣”。可接下来让人错愕不已的是，本周美国政府竟然决定全面恢复同利比亚的外交关系。