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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 | |
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2 neurotic | |
adj.神经病的,神经过敏的;n.神经过敏者,神经病患者 | |
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3 reassure | |
v.使放心,使消除疑虑 | |
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4 defense | |
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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5 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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6 allied | |
adj.协约国的;同盟国的 | |
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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 | |
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8 annex | |
vt.兼并,吞并;n.附属建筑物 | |
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9 militants | |
激进分子,好斗分子( militant的名词复数 ) | |
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