In fact, the two countries have been edging closer for years—for reasons of pure realpolitik[4]. Mr Qaddafi s regime is certainly less bad than it was. It has not t________② anyone outside its own borders for a long time. It has opened its economy a crack to foreign investors, invited tourism and slightly lifted oppressive controls on its own citizens. （1）But none of those things matters as much to America as big oil, alliances in the fight against Islamist extremism and the scoring of points in the current stand-off[5] over Iran s nuclear ambitions.
事实上，多年来两国已经越走越近——纯粹是因为强权政治。卡扎菲政权肯定要比过去有所改善，很久以来都未在本国领土以外进行过恐怖活动，经济上渐渐对外国投资者开放，并开始发展旅游事业，对本国公民的高压管控也有所放松。但是对于美国而言，这些都算不了什么。丰富的石油、结盟对抗伊斯兰极端主义以及在当前伊朗核危机僵局中赢得优势，才是美国真正想要的。（译者按：本句的主结构应该是“none of those things matters as much as……to America”，意为“对美国而言，比起……来，那些都无关紧要。”）
Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa, safely distant from the Persian Gulf, and has historically cosy[6] relations with American oil firms. More crucial to the Bush administration has been Libya s importance in countering al-Qaeda and its offshoots. （2）Mr Qaddafi s intelligence services, once feared as global troublemakers, are among the most ruthless in the region. Ever since Libya s leader was himself targeted for assassination by Muslim radicals (at least twice in the 1990s), he has been one of their keenest foes.