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Why did U.S. abstain on Gaza?

War rages despite the Security Council vote. CNN's Richard Roth reports on the reasoning behind the U.S. abstention.

It was the raised American hand that raised eyebrows. Why did US Secretary of State Rice abstain on a UN Gaza ceasefire resolution she worked so hard to craft with European allies, and whose goals she announced she agreed with? Publicly, Rice says the Egyptian peace proposal by President Mubarak should be given more time. Rice was a whirlwind during the resolution debate with Arab nations, shuttling between meetings. But there was a delay before the vote and Rice could be seen huddling with Arab foreign ministers. The State Department Press Corps searching for other reasons pressed Rice's spokesman.

I think she explained it, look, it's a nuanced assignment. I understand that. But we did as we tried to come up with what we thought was the best possible solution. I can only offer you first-hand accounts. You're welcome to your interpretations here in the real mind.

Elsewhere, a US official indicated the decision to abstain came from higher-ups in Washington and not from Rice who wanted to vote yes on the resolution.

But at the end of the day, you may get instructions to do something a little bit different than what you thought you were really starting to do at the outset. We've all encountered that, er, from time to time. And at the end of the day, the shots are called in the Capitol.

Arab diplomats were not surprised and were just glad to avoid the United States blocking the resolution, a ceasefire call neither Israel or Hamas is complying with.

Of course, it's extremely disappointing that so far, it has been ignored by both sides.

A US official was not surprised the Security Council resolution has been ignored. He said it will work over time, just not immediately. The US supports the resolution's concepts if not inside the Security Council chamber.

Richard Roth, CNN United Nations.

文本参考中文翻译

尽管联合国安理会就加沙地区停火问题投票，战争仍然如火如荼地进行。CNN记者Richard Roth为我们报道美国投弃权票的背后原因。

美国代表投弃权票引起了人们的注意。美国国务卿赖斯一直竭尽全力与欧洲盟国交涉，并宣布希望加沙地带停火，但是为什么她不赞成联合国安理会针对加沙地区的停火方案呢？赖斯公开表示，埃及总统穆巴拉克提出的停火提议尚需时间。与会期间，赖斯与阿拉伯国家外交部长针对停火方案进行了激烈辩论。但是投票之前，赖斯有一些延迟，并与阿拉伯外交部长乱成一团。国务院记者团向赖斯的发言人寻求弃权的其他原因。

我认为她已经做出了解释，你知道，这是一项很微妙的任务。我能够理解。但是，我们已经为找出最好的方案作出了努力。我只能为你提供第一手报告。希望你能解释出真正原因。

在其他方面，一名美国官员暗示，投弃权票的指令来自华盛顿高层，而非本来希望投赞成票的赖斯本来的意愿。

但是，在一天快要结束的时候，你可能会收到指令来做一件事，而且可能和你开始时想做的有些差别。我们每个人都经常遇到这种情况。在最后关头，美国国会大厦发出了命令。

阿拉伯外交官并不感到惊讶，而且为避免了美国对该方案的阻挠感到高兴。而对于该停火方案，以色列和哈马斯均不答应。

当然，联合国安理会对这种结果大失所望，以色列和哈马斯双方均对该停火协议置之不理。

一名美国官员表示，安理会停火方案遭冷遇他一点都不感到惊讶。他说，长期来看，该方案可能会起作用，但不会有立竿见影的效果。如果不是在安理会上，美国实际上是支持该停火协议的观点的。