美国军方面临来自恐怖分子和国家的威胁

US Military Facing Threats from Terrorists¹, Countries 美国军方面临来自恐怖分子和国家的威胁

The United States military says it must prepare to deal with two different threats at the same time. The threats come from aggressive moves by Russia and China and the influence of extremist groups like the self-proclaimed Islamic State.

Experts say it will not be easy for the military to do.

This month, U.S. Secretary of Defense² Ashton Carter spoke³ to soldiers at Fort⁴ Bragg in the state of North Carolina. He says their skills and experiences of fighting terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan will be useful in future conflicts.

He says the military is, “moving into a different direction in the future, where we try to capture what we learned -- and we learned a lot in the course of those two wars -- and turn that skill and that experience to the kinds of conflicts that are going to determine our future.”

Large countries are still the biggest threat

In June, American military officials published a new National Military Strategy after four years. The document says the threat of a war with another country is low, but growing. It says the American military will closely watch Russia, Iran, North Korea and China.

Bryan Clark is a former U.S. Navy strategist. He is now a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic⁵ and Budgetary Assessments⁶. The center researches security and defense issues. Mr. Clark says Russia, Iran, North Korea and China have security goals that are likely to conflict with those of the U.S. in the near future.

He says the American strategy is changing because of Russia’s aggression⁷ in Eastern Europe and China’s activities in the South China Sea. The U.S. must prepare to fight a war with a large country while fighting terrorists at the same time.

China not an enemy -- but not a friend, either

The strategy document says Iran, Russia and North Korea are threats to world peace. But it describes China differently. It says the United States wants to help China grow. It hopes a strong China will help increase international security. But that does not mean the military believes there is no risk of conflict with China.

In Mr. Clark’s words, the American military “sees China as a much more significant threat to U.S. national security interests.” China has a larger economy and more population than other nations. He notes that China has advanced military weapons similar to Russia, and many more of them. And China is moving aggressively against American allies⁸ in the South China Sea.

Fighting more than one war at the same time

Defense Secretary Carter says the U.S. military must be able to deal with challenges in more than one area. He says the country needs a military that is not only big enough but has enough equipment and well-trained troops. And he says military pay must be high enough to attract and keep good troops.

Whatever happens, the American military will need to meet the challenges with fewer soldiers than it has now. The Defense Department has announced plans to reduce the size of the Army by 40,000 soldiers.

Words in This Story

self-proclaimed – adj. giving yourself or your group a particular name or title, often without any reason or proof that would cause other people to agree with you

strategy – n. a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal, usually over a long period of time

conflict – v. disagrees with; takes a different position from

significant – adj. large enough to be noticed or have an effect

1 terrorists   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子( terrorist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The terrorists have halted their bloody campaign of violence. 恐怖分子已经停止了他们凶残的暴力活动。
• They were finally forced to capitulate to the terrorists' demands. 他们最后被迫屈从恐怖分子的要求。

2 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。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 fort   

n.要塞，堡垒，碉堡

参考例句：

• The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
• No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证，任何人不得进入要塞。

5 strategic   

adj.战略（上）的，战略上重要的

参考例句：

• The army moved for strategic reasons.军队作了战略转移。
• The bridge is of strategic importance to us.这座桥对我们至关重要。

6 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

7 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

8 allies   

联盟国，同盟者； 同盟国，同盟者( ally的名词复数 )； 支持者； 盟军

参考例句：

• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。
• A number of the United States' allies had urged him not to take a hasty decision. 美国的一些盟友已力劝他不要急于作决定。