VOA标准英语2010年-Missile Defense Controversy Remains Af

Al Pessin | Pentagon 26 March 2010

 
Photo: White House/Pete Souza
US President Barack Obama discusses the START treaty, during a phone call with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in the Oval Office , 26 Mar¹ 2010

Friday's announcement of a new U.S.-Russia strategic arms reduction treaty was achieved partly because the negotiators agreed to separate the issue from the controversy² over the U.S. missile defense³ program.  Russia has strongly opposed the program, but U.S. officials say missile defense has become an integral part of security for the United States and its allies, and they predict significant advances during the next two years.

 

After President Barack Obama announced the agreement at the White House Friday morning, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made this simple declaration. "Missile defense is not constrained⁴ by this treaty," he said.

That was good news for the large and growing segment of the U.S. defense establishment and defense industry devoted⁵ to missile defense.  At an annual conference for such people this week, Gates' deputy, William Lynn, made this almost triumphant⁶ statement to several hundred government workers and industry executives.

"The high-pitched partisan⁷ debate over whether to invest in missile defense is no longer with us," he said. "Ballistic missile defense is without question an important part of our current and future strategy.  We are committed to developing new missile technologies to their fullest."

Controversy is not over yet

Lynn was referring to decades of controversy over whether it was possible to develop a missile that could hit and destroy an incoming missile in flight, and to do so at a reasonable and sustainable cost.  The controversy is not completely over, but the Obama Administration's ballistic missile defense review, released in February, endorsed⁸ what had largely been a program supported by Republican Party presidents and members of Congress.

Now that the decision has been made to move forward with what the review called an "integral" part of U.S. defenses, the second ranking U.S. military officer, General James Cartwright, says the American military commands will spend some time figuring out how to use the various aspects of the system in their regions.

"What makes sense for the Gulf⁹ region, what makes sense for Europe, what makes sense for the Pacific, they're not going to be the same.  And how we figure that out and how we move in a direction that's both effective and affordable¹⁰ is the work that has to be done over the next two years," he said.

The $10-billion U.S. missile defense program involves a combination of systems designed to detect and intercept¹¹ missiles coming from short, medium and long distances.  There are only minutes - sometimes seconds - to react, and the incoming weapons are traveling faster than the speed of sound. 

Russian deterrent¹²

As a result, the United States needs radar¹³ installations and anti-missile launch sites in key regions, particularly in Central Europe to counter the growing missile threat from Iran.  And Russia, the U.S. partner on strategic arms reduction and in the effort to convince Iran not to develop nuclear weapons, has not been at all happy about that.

Russia says the European missile defense system changes the balance of power and threatens its nuclear arsenal¹⁴.  But Andrew Kuchins, director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says that's not the real reason for Russian opposition¹⁵.

"They understand that these systems don't have the capability¹⁶ to compromise the Russian strategic deterrent.  What they want to do, I think, is try to block the development of missile defense capabilities¹⁷ in general so as to make it more costly¹⁸ for the United States to deploy¹⁹ conventional forces into the [European] theater," he said.

"Conventional superiority"

But Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn says the ability to project conventional power without the threat of missile attacks is crucial to the U.S. global security strategy, and its treaty obligations. 

"This risk could push our forces further from the battle space, compromising our ability to bring our conventional superiority to bear.  The credibility of our security guarantees to allies and to partners especially in the Middle East and East Asia depends on our ability to project power despite these threats," he said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indicated Friday she wants to talk more with the Russians about missile defense.  "We continue to look for ways to engage with Russia on missile defense in a way that is mutually beneficial and protective of countries' security against these new threats we face in the world," she said.

Russia has offered some cooperation on missile defense in the past, but has resisted the kind of system U.S. officials have proposed.  Still, the Obama Administration is determined²⁰ to move forward with plans to put missile defense installations in Poland and Romania.

Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, James Miller²¹, says there will be major developments during the next few years.  "I think we're on a very good path to making a sea-change in our missile defense posture²² within the coming three-to-five years," he said.

Miller says U.S. missile defense capability is not as good as it should be in some areas, particularly the Middle East, but he expects that to change significantly, and soon.
 

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 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。

4 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

5 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

6 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

7 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

8 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

10 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

11 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

12 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

13 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

14 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

15 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。

16 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

17 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

18 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

19 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

20 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

21 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

22 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。