美国国家公共电台 NPR--NATO investigates a missile strike in Poland that killed 2 people

NATO investigates a missile strike in Poland that killed 2 people

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to former State Department official Joel Rubin about NATO's possible response. It's unclear at this point where the Russian-made missile was fired from.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Joining us now is Joel Rubin, who served as a deputy assistant secretary of state during the Obama administration. Joel, as we get more answers about what initially² was thought to be a missile strike in Poland, NATO ambassadors are also condemning³ yesterday's deadly wave of Russian missile strikes across Ukraine.

What, if anything, Joel, are they likely to do here?

JOEL RUBIN: Yeah, A, it's great to be with you. And as more information comes in, this definitely will shape the response. And this is how the process is supposed to work - this horrible, tragic⁴ loss of life in Poland, two innocent individuals killed by this indiscriminate barrage⁵ of Russian missiles being shot at Ukraine. That creates a dynamic now where the decision makers⁶ go into NATO consultations⁷ and decide what type of collective punishment they may or may not want to do. The good news here is that we're getting more information quickly. That - this means that this will help to shape the decision in a clear way, as opposed to an ongoing⁸ debate back and forth⁹ about what really happened.

MART?NEZ: Yeah. Now, since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February, officials have expressed concerns about an inadvertent escalation¹⁰. What's the risk here?

RUBIN: Yeah. Absolutely, A. This has always been the concern. Certainly, the administration talks about it a lot - spillover as a potential outcome of just this ongoing, seemingly endless Russian assault on Ukraine. And so what happens then is that the countries in NATO - they serve as a bulwark¹¹, in a sense a deterrent¹² against the kind of expansion that we're concerned about. But spillover's spillover. And in war, these kinds of incidents can happen. And that's where it's good to have leadership like we have right now with President Biden, right there by coincidence, as your reporter said, in Bali, with other global leaders, to make sure that there's no miscommunication, that no responses are done in a way that's haphazard¹³ or that don't meet the actual requirement of response to Russia. But Russia needs to hear it clearly, as they are, that this missile barrage is unacceptable.

MART?NEZ: On the explosion in Poland, the president there says it's probably an accident. But I'm wondering, considering that the war has been going on for more than nine months and the lack of military experience for a lot of the people that have been pressed into action on both sides, should the world be relieved that things like this haven't happened more often?

RUBIN: No relief at all in this war - and Vladimir Putin doesn't seem to want to de-escalate, as he's fighting in a losing battle, clearly being pushed back by the Ukrainian forces. The best relief will be when he stops his assault on the innocent people of Ukraine - but in the meantime, the calling out of Russia's behavior, the international response, global-in-nature diplomatic process that we see unfolding, even in regards to NATO. And in a way, this is a bit of a test run for NATO to determine how to deal with the potential of spillover if a more serious incident does occur and it's deemed that Russia intentionally¹⁴ did it. So some muscles are being used and warmed up right now. But this is a very dangerous situation. And Russia is testing the limits regardless of whether or not they intended to hit Poland.

MART?NEZ: On NATO for a second - they did not address Article 4. Germany's foreign minister says NATO - in a meeting - that they didn't address it. But what would it take to invoke¹⁵ that kind of response, which would be providing emergency consultations for one of the allies who believes it's being threatened?

RUBIN: Well, essentially¹⁶, if Poland says it needs this and if it submits - only once has Article 5, the other article that we most often talk about regarding NATO, which is the mutual¹⁷ defense¹⁸ response - only once has that been invoked¹⁹, and that was by the U.S. We requested it of NATO back after 911. So it would be up to Poland to initiate²⁰ and get that moving. It sounds as if they're not there yet, but certainly the country affected²¹ is the one that takes the lead on this, and that's the consultative diplomatic process that's designed for this kind of dynamic so that there aren't mistakes made and that there are not inadvertent escalations that can spill out of control. In many ways, this structure is working as it should.

MART?NEZ: You said the response right now is the way it should have been going - right? - I mean, to take a step back and not be rash or anything like that. I mean, is this NATO's first big test with this war in Ukraine?

RUBIN: Yes, I think it is. You know, this is not a tripwire. NATO and the structure in Article 5 is organized in a way where decisions can continually be made moment by moment by moment. And so now for Poland, assessing, understanding what's happening, making a decision on whether to go forward and seek additional NATO support or not - that's the process underway, as it should be. But we're likely to see more tests in the near term, certainly as Russia continues to get more desperate in Ukraine.

MART?NEZ: Joel Rubin is a former deputy assistant secretary at the State Department.

Joel, thanks.

(SOUNDBITE OF TWO LANES' "TRANSCEND")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

3 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

5 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

6 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

11 bulwark   

n.堡垒，保障，防御

参考例句：

• That country is a bulwark of freedom.那个国家是自由的堡垒。
• Law and morality are the bulwark of society.法律和道德是社会的防御工具。

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 haphazard   

adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的

参考例句：

• The town grew in a haphazard way.这城镇无计划地随意发展。
• He regrerted his haphazard remarks.他悔不该随口说出那些评论话。

14 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

15 invoke   

v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求

参考例句：

• Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
• I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。

16 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

17 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

18 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。

19 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

21 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。