美国高层人物警告"苏独"后果

A “Yes” vote for independence would be an economic mistake for Scotland and a geopolitical disaster for the west, senior US figures, including Alan Greenspan have told the Financial Times, as Washington wakes up to the chance that its closest ally could break up this week.

苏格兰公投结果若为独立，将是苏格兰在经济上的失算，也是西方的一场地缘政治灾难——这是艾伦•格林斯潘(Alan Greenspan)等美国高层人物告诉英国《金融时报》的。华盛顿正意识到其最亲密的盟友有可能在本周面临分裂。

Having assumed for months that “No” would win comfortably, Washington has reacted with alarm to polls showing that Thursday’s referendum is going to the wire. “Like many Americans, and given that my name is Robert Bruce, I have an admiration for the Scots, their heritage and their role in US and world history,” said Robert Zoellick, the former deputy secretary of state and World Bank president. “But a break-up of the UK would be a diminution of Britain and a tragedy for the west just at a moment when the US needs strong partners. I strongly suspect it would not work out well for the Scots either.”

在多个月来假设反对独立的一方将轻松取胜之后，华盛顿对民调结果作出震惊的反应，这些民调显示周四的公投命悬一线。“和很多美国人一样，并且因为我的名字是罗伯特•布鲁斯(Robert Bruce)，我对苏格兰人、他们的文化遗产，以及他们在美国乃至世界历史上起到的作用怀有一种敬佩之情，”曾先后担任美国副国务卿和世界银行(World Bank)行长的罗伯特•佐利克(Robert Zoellick)表示。“但是联合王国的解体将意味着英国的缩小，那将是西方的一个悲剧，而目前正值美国需要强大的合作伙伴。我强烈预期，独立到头来对苏格兰人也没有什么好处。”

Senator John McCain, a former Republican presidential candidate who sees the UK as America’s most important military partner, said he was reluctant to comment on another country’s internal affairs . “But I don’t see how it could be helpful, not just as far as intelligence ties are concerned, but to the unique military relationship as well.”

曾经是共和党总统候选人的参议员约翰•麦凯恩(John McCain)将英国视为美国最重要的军事盟友。他表示，他不太愿意对另一个国家的内部事务发表评论，“但我看不出它怎么可能是有益的，无论是对情报关系还是对独一无二的军事关系而言。”

Mr Greenspan, former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, said the economic consequences of independence would be “surprisingly negative for Scotland, more so than the nationalist party is in any way communicating”.

美联储(Fed)前主席格林斯潘表示，独立的经济后果“对苏格兰将出奇负面，超过苏格兰民族党目前所表达的程度”。

Despite nationalist claims to the contrary, he said there was no chance of London’s agreeing to a currency union. Differing fiscal policies would also cause any Scottish attempt at using the pound regardless to “break apart very quickly. . . There’s no conceivable, credible way the Bank of England is going to sit there as a lender of last resort to a new Scotland”.

尽管民族主义者发表相反的预测，但格林斯潘表示，伦敦绝无可能同意货币联盟。不同的财政政策也将造成苏格兰自作主张使用英镑的尝试“很快瓦解……没有一种可以想象的、可信的方式让英国央行(BoE)作为新苏格兰的最后贷款人。”

The US is worried that a Yes vote could increase the chances that the rest of the UK might vote to leave the EU, which US officials believe would make Britain a much less potent partner. “That is our nightmare – Scottish independence followed by a British exit from the EU,” said a senior administration official.

美国担心，苏格兰独立的公投结果将增加英国其余部分投票退出欧盟的几率，美国官员认为，这将使英国成为一个不那么得力的合作伙伴。“那是我们的噩梦——苏格兰独立，接着英国退出欧盟，”奥巴马政府一名高级官员表示。

Josh Earnest, White House spokesman, said: “We have an interest in seeing the UK remain strong, robust and united.”

白宫发言人乔希•欧内斯特(Josh Earnest)表示：“英国保持强大、有活力和统一符合我们的利益。”