2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Calls for Full NATO Commitment to Defeat T

By Bill Rodgers
Washington, DC
29 November 2006
 
watch Bush NATO report

President Bush has called for the full commitment of the NATO alliance to defeat a resurgent Taleban in Afghanistan.  Mr. Bush made the appeal in a wide ranging speech in Riga, Latvia, where he attended a NATO summit that finished Wednesday. 

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President George W. Bush poses with Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, 28 Nov. 2006

Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga welcomed President Bush to the podium, where he delivered a wide-ranging speech about the challenges facing the NATO alliance.  One major challenge he touched on is Afghanistan. "Taleban and al-Qaida fighters, and drug fighters and criminal elements and local warlords remain active and committed to destroying democracy in Afghanistan. Defeating them will require the full commitment of our alliance.  For NATO to succeed, the commanders on the ground must have the resources and flexibility¹ they need to do their jobs."

NATO has some 32,000 troops in Afghanistan, battling a resurgent Talelban.  But only a few countries, including Britain, Canada, the United States and the Netherlands, are doing most of the fighting in the dangerous southern provinces. Other members have put restrictions², or "caveats³", on how their forces can be used. 

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop⁴ Scheffer complained about this in Riga -- urging more support for the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF: "We must resource ISAF properly.  It is not acceptable that our mission in the south still lacks 20 percent of its combined joint⁵ statement of requirements.  I have spoken out repeatedly, and I will do it again here this morning, about national caveats that take away a commander's flexibility and undermine our operational effectiveness."

Afghanistan and the expansion of NATO to include other countries are among the topics of discussion at this summit, which holds a formal session Wednesday.  In his speech, President Bush expressed support for admitting all European democracies that want to be a part of NATO.

“Here in Riga, allies will make clear that the door to NATO membership remains⁶ open.  And in our next summit in 2008 we hope to issue additional  invitations to nations that are ready for membership. Today, Croatia, Macedonia and Albania are all participating in NATO's membership action plan and the United States supports their aspirations⁷ to join the Atlantic Alliance."

After the summitended Wednesday, President Bush traveled to Jordan for discussions about Iraq and the Middle East. 

1 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 caveats   

警告

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling. 为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。 来自辞典例句
• As I have written before, that's quite a caveat. 正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。 来自互联网

4 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。