VOA标准英语2009-NATO Defense Ministers Approve Troop Cut in

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization says it plans to withdraw about a third of its force in Kosovo by next year because the security situation has improved. The announcement came during a meeting of NATO defense¹ ministers in Brussels.
　
U.S. Secretary for Defense Robert Gates, right, shares a word with British Defense Secretary Bob Ainsworth, left, during a NATO meeting in Brussels, 11 June 2009

The announced troop cut was widely anticipated and will leave about 10,000 NATO forces in Kosovo -- compared to up to 15,000 troops there at any given time. While NATO officials gave no specific timeline for the drawdown, Secretary General Jaap de Hoop² Scheffer said it could take place by next January.

In remarks to reporters, German Defense Minister Franz Joseph Jung suggested that security would be beefed up with the recent deployment³ of a European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, or EULEX, and the expansion of Kosovo's own security force in the coming months.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia last year, despite strong opposition⁴ from Belgrade and from Moscow.

Some analysts⁵ suggest that the NATO troops in Kosovo could be redeployed to Afghanistan where U.S. and NATO forces are battling a strong Taliban insurgency⁶.

Afghanistan was also on the agenda during the Brussels meeting. The first of some 21,000 additional American troops are beginning to arrive there ahead of presidential elections in August.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

"There is a general feeling I could say that with all these additional troops and all these additional efforts that everybody is making to get to the elections in Afghanistan, to have a momentum⁷, to have a free and fair election and then see over the next months whether we can begin to shift the momentum," Gates said.

During the next year, Gates said, it will be critical to show that progress has been made in the war in Afghanistan. Otherwise, he said, patience in the United States and in other NATO countries for the mission could wear thin.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

7 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。