原WSJ報導幾個重點摘譯:
https://tinyurl.com/yyyc2k4j
1. 美國決策轉捩點
美國是在 1 月 17 日拜登與Olav通電話後改變立場，拜登在電話中同意逆反五角大樓的
判斷，考慮提供M1坦克…
The shift in the U.S. position follows a Jan. 17 call between President Biden
and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in which Mr. Biden agreed to look into
providing the Abrams tanks against the judgment of the Pentagon, which
thought the tanks would be too difficult for Ukraine to field and maintain.
2. 交付數量與時間
美國預計將派遣約 30 輛坦克；一些美國官員表示（交付M1坦克）可能需要 12 個月的時
間。
The U.S. is expected to send about 30 tanks, according to U.S. officials …
some U.S. officials said it might take 12 months.
3. 德國對交付豹2的核心憂慮
Olav擔心最終會在烏克蘭出現一支幾乎完全由德製坦克組成的隊列與俄羅斯人作戰，這
種情況可能使得德國被單獨挑出來變成衝突的一方
Mr. Scholz was concerned about ending up with a fleet of almost exclusively
German-made tanks being used to fight the Russians in Ukraine, a scenario
that could single his country out as a party to the conflict
4. 美國政府內部的立場轉化觸媒
私下裡，美國官員對德國拒絕批准提供德製坦克感到沮喪，並辯論著如何說服柏林改變立
場；然而，一些國務院和白宮官員對滿足德國對M1的要求持開放態度，以避免支持烏克蘭
（的國家）之間的外交破裂，並能加快交付更多武裝。一些與白宮關係密切的民主黨議員
，如德拉瓦州的民主黨參議員庫恩，也敦促提供一些M1坦克。
Privately, U.S. officials were frustrated by Germany’s refusal to approve
the provision of German-made tanks and have debated how to persuade Berlin to
change its stance…. Some State Department and White House officials,
however, had been open to meeting the German demands on the Abrams to avoid a
diplomatic rupture among Ukraine’s backers and to expedite the delivery of
more armor. Some Democratic lawmakers close to the White House, such as
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons* of Delaware, have also urged that some Abrams be
provided.
*庫恩在2021年6月曾乘C-17和美國參議員達克沃斯 ( Tammy Duckworth )和蘇利文(Dan
Sullivan)訪問台灣，會見台灣總統和外交部長，宣布美國對台的COVID-19 疫苗捐贈
https://tinyurl.com/v6562392
庫恩的維基照片
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chris_Coons.jpg