VOA慢速英语2014 现在比以往更需要北约

 

AS IT IS 2014-06-25 NATO Needed Now More Than Ever 现在比以往更需要北约

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization may be getting stronger because of conflicts on NATO’s eastern and southern borders.

That is the sound of armored personnel carriers, tanks and other military equipment being put on trucks in Afghanistan.  They are being prepared for the long ride home as NATO’s campaigns in the country come to an end.

Some observers believed the alliance will become less important after the operation ends.  But Jonathan Eyal of the Royal United Services Institute says they were wrong.

“Interestingly, NATO is now more relevant than it has been for probably a decade.”

He says the alliance is still important largely because of Russia.  NATO officials recently released satellite images of what appears to be tanks crossing from Russia into eastern Ukraine.  This followed Russian expressions of support for Ukrainian separatists, and Russia’s takeover of the Crimean peninsula.

Professor Eyal says European countries once under the control of the Soviet¹ Union are now worried about Russia.

“The east Europeans used to be dismissed up to now as being neurotic², as being too frightened about Russia that supposedly is no longer an enemy.  Well, the east Europeans were right and we were wrong about Russia.  So in many respects this is the moment where the alliance will have to reassure³ its members.”

NATO has taken steps to calm the former Soviet-controlled states.  It has increased the number of troops along the borders of its members in the east.  It has also increased sea and air defenses.  Military exercises took place earlier this month in Lithuania.

Professor Eyal says not everyone in Europe agrees on how to deal with Russia.

“Countries like Germany, or France, or the UK -- who believe that we should not make too much out of the current Ukrainian crisis -- and countries such as Poland or Romania -- the big former Communist countries on the borders with Ukraine -- who believe that Ukraine is a sign of a fundamentally-different Europe from the one that we knew.”

Russia began working closely with NATO in the 1990s.  But military experts say it should no longer be considered a strategic, or long-term, partner.  

General Philip Breedlove is the Supreme⁵ Allied⁶ Commander of NATO operations in Europe.  He says the alliance may make changes in how its troops are deployed⁷.

“We’ve seen a nation cross an internationally-recognized sovereign border, and annex⁸ by force a portion of a sovereign nation.  That changes the way we do business.  And so we are now re-evaluating how we do these things as it relates to force readiness, responsiveness and positioning.”

Jonathan Eyal says NATO must also deal with unrest along its southern borders.

“Turkey, for instance, asked for a NATO meeting to discuss the crisis it sees at its borders.”

That crisis in Syria and Iraq is worsening.  Islamist militants⁹ have taken control of large areas in each country.

NATO’s secretary general has said he does not believe the alliance should become involved in the Iraqi conflict.  But security officials in Western countries warn that the lawlessness there enables terrorists to operate safely.  The officials warn that these terrorists may use Iraq as a base for attacks on other countries.  So, they say, NATO should watch the situation closely.

A report written for NATO on the organization’s future said it should re-state its top objective -- collective defense⁴.  And it said European members should halt cuts in defense spending.  I’m Christopher Cruise.

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 neurotic   

adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者

参考例句：

• Nothing is more distracting than a neurotic boss. 没有什么比神经过敏的老板更恼人的了。
• There are also unpleasant brain effects such as anxiety and neurotic behaviour.也会对大脑产生不良影响，如焦虑和神经质的行为。

3 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

7 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 annex   

vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物

参考例句：

• It plans to annex an England company in order to enlarge the market.它计划兼并一家英国公司以扩大市场。
• The annex has been built on to the main building.主楼配建有附属的建筑物。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。