Russia's decision to grant asylum to Edward Snowden left U.S. officials seething, but it also pointed to a deeper underlying reality: President Barack Obama is having a hard time right now steering world events in the direction he would like.

俄罗斯向斯诺登(Edward Snowden)提供庇护的决定令美国官员们群情激愤，但该决定也显示出一个更深层次的基本事实：美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)现在难以引导世界大事向他希望的方向发展。

Before Russia's decision, made in defiance of demands that Mr. Snowden be turned over to the U.S., the Obama administration was similarly unable to persuade the governments of Hong Kong and China to arrest Mr. Snowden, or at least keep him from fleeing his initial foreign landing spot in Hong Kong.

在美国提出将斯诺登交给美方的要求后，俄罗斯仍做出了这一决定。在此之前，奥巴马政府也同样未能劝说香港和中国内地政府逮捕斯诺登，或至少阻止他逃离最开始的海外落脚点香港。

At the same time, U.S. officials have been unable to convince Egyptian military chief Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to ease his crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, or to draw Brotherhood representatives into a new government being formed in the wake of the army's ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.

与此同时，在埃及前总统穆尔西(Mohammed Morsi)被驱逐之后，美国官员也一直未能劝服埃及军事领袖塞西(Abdel Fattah Al Sisi)放松对穆斯林兄弟会(Muslim Brotherhood)的镇压，或吸收穆斯林兄弟会的代表进入正在组建的新政府。

Russia also has been a thorn in the U.S. side in on another front, in Syria. Moscow blocked early Western efforts at the United Nations Security Council to push aside President Bashar al-Assad. Now, President Obama has decided to send some arms to Syria's opposition. But the startup of that aid has been slow, and it isn't clear the assistance will be enough to counter Russian arms going to the Assad regime or to turn the tide in the bloody civil war.

俄罗斯在另一条战线上也让美国伤脑筋，那就是叙利亚。莫斯科阻碍了西方早先在联合国安理会(United Nations Security Council)打击叙利亚总统阿萨德(Bashar al-Assad)的行动。现在，美国总统奥巴马决定向叙利亚反对派输送武器。但这一援助行动启动缓慢，而且也不清楚美国的援助是否足以对抗俄罗斯向阿萨德政权提供的武器，或是否能够扭转叙利亚血腥内战的局势。

The Syrian problem has been exacerbated by the inability of the U.S. to convince Iraqi leaders to stop allowing their airspace to be used by Iran to fly in arms to bolster the Syrian regime. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, U.S. officials have been unable to convince President Hamid Karzai to embrace the idea of peace talks with the Taliban.

由于美国未能说服伊拉克领导人停止让伊朗使用其领空运送武器支持叙利亚政权，也导致叙利亚问题加剧。同时在阿富汗，美国官员一直未能说服该国总统卡尔扎伊(Hamid Karzai)接受与塔利班(Taliban)和谈的想法。

Of course, U.S. clout remains considerable on many fronts, and in other areas the administration has succeeded in bending events to its will. Pressure from the U.S. appeared to stop several Latin American countries from granting Mr. Snowden asylum.

当然，美国在很多方面仍然具有极大的影响力，在其他地区，美国政府也成功地使事件按其意愿发展。表面看来，来自美国的压力阻止了几个拉美国家为斯诺登提供庇护。

And just this week, the administration enjoyed a significant diplomatic success, when Secretary of State John Kerry succeeded in luring Israeli and Palestinian officials back into peace talks after a three-year hiatus. It is unlikely that anybody other than the U.S.'s top diplomat could have made that happen.

就在本周，美国政府取得了一个重大外交成就，美国国务卿克里(John Kerry)成功说服以色列和巴勒斯坦官员恢复中断三年之久的和平谈判。除了美国高级外交官员，任何人都不太可能做到这一点。

Still, the difficulties in affecting events on the Snowden case and in the Middle East are a reminder of the limits of U.S. power. 'Partially it's simply a reflection that we're living in a world where power is more distributed than ever before,' said Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and a former top White House and State Department official. 'The U.S. may be first among unequals, but there's a big difference between primacy and hegemony. We're simply not in a position to dictate things.'

然而美国在斯诺登事件以及中东局势上难以影响事态发展，这种情况提醒人们，美国的势力也有限度。外交关系委员会(Council on Foreign Relations)主席、曾任白宫及美国国务院(State Department)高级官员的哈斯(Richard Haass)说，在一定程度上，这种情况仅仅反映出当今世界的权力比以往任何时候更加分散；在影响力方面，美国或许领先其他国家，但领先地位与霸权之间存在很大的区别。我们只是没有处于发号施令的地位而已。

Mr. Haass also said that U.S. influence is hampered by a preoccupation with economic troubles at home, which creates a perception among some leaders abroad that Washington is distracted and uninterested in world events.

哈斯还说，美国的影响力也因美国全力应对国内经济困境而受到制约，这种情况导致一些外国领导人认为，华盛顿心不在焉，对世界大事没有兴趣。

The administration's influence also has been crimped by some specific policy decisions, he added. The departure of all U.S. troops from Iraq has reduced Washington's influence in that country, while the decision to set a public deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan has had a similar effect there.

他补充说，美国政府的影响力还受挫于一些具体的政策决定。从伊拉克撤出所有美国军队降低了华盛顿在伊拉克的影响力，公开设定从阿富汗撤军的最后期限也产生了类似的效果。