VOA标准英语2010年-NATO Seeks to Redefine Role, Again

In the more than 20 years since the Cold War ended, the Atlantic Alliance, NATO, has been struggling to redefine itself through expansion and by taking on new missions.  Now, the 28-nation organization's identity crisis is entering a new phase, as officials work to finalize¹ a Strategic Concept to guide the alliance into the new decade.

When the West saw the Soviet² Union as a threat to its way of life, NATO had a natural role in balancing that threat.  But when the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union dissolved in 1989, the western alliance's main reason for being disappeared.

It quickly became an organization dedicated³ to solidifying⁴ the end of Russian domination of Central and Eastern Europe.  It has admitted 13 former Soviet allies over the years, and has plans to admit several more.  NATO found new missions, sending troops to the Balkans in the 1990s, and to Afghanistan a decade later.  But that did not help it prove its continuing relevance⁵ to skeptical⁶ West European populations.

"Relevant or relic⁷ might be a question if NATO was still camped in Europe waiting to defend the borders.  But we're anything but that," said U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis, the top NATO military officer. 

He told a gathering⁸ in Washington recently the alliance is doing important things to ensure its security from conventional threats and from new ones like terrorism, piracy⁹ and cyber attacks.  He says its troops are ensuring stability in Kosovo, working to defend Europe against missile attacks and fighting every day to ensure Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven¹⁰ for terrorists. 

But Admiral Stavridis admits there is one thing NATO is not very good at. "We're very good at launching missiles.  We need to get better at launching ideas," he said.

The problem for the admiral, and for the alliance as a whole, is convincing the people in member countries, particularly in Western Europe, that what NATO does is important for their future.  That is why European defense¹¹ spending is below the alliance target of two per cent of GDP, and why members can not come up with enough combat troops for Afghanistan, or even enough other resources like aircraft and trainers. 

The new Strategic Concept, due to be approved by NATO leaders at a summit in November, is supposed to help inspire support for alliance missions.  Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has just finished chairing a team that did a first draft of the Concept, and presented it to NATO officials in May. 

"The onus¹² on this does rest on all of us.  I think we have to explain why this alliance that was started 60 years ago for a totally different reason is something that's important now.  And we determined¹³ that we were living in the world's most unpredictable time.  And here was this amazing tool that needed to be versatile¹⁴ and agile¹⁵ in this time of unpredictability, and that there was a lot of bang (value) for the buck¹⁶.  But we have to keep making that case," she said.

Albright says making the case is important because NATO is an alliance of democracies.  For years now, many of its member governments have had a lot of trouble convincing their parliaments, and their people, to spend money on defense during what seems like a peaceful time in Europe -- a job made even more difficult by the current economic crunch¹⁷.

Damon Wilson of the Atlantic Council says the new Strategic Concept itself will not likely do that convincing, any more than the first post-Cold War NATO strategy did ten years ago, before the September 11 attacks, the invasion of Afghanistan and a series of terror incidents in Europe.

"This is not going to be a paper that grips the European publics and seizes the imagination of the American people.  No, it's not going to be that.  But it does need to basically provide the common talking points so that allied¹⁸ leaders, allied presidents and prime ministers, have on one sheet of paper, one page, a set of common talking points that they can speak from to their people to explain why the alliance matters, what it's about, what it's mission is and that they've got their common set of arguments," he said.

But Wilson says the process of defining NATO's role is important.

The Albright report calls NATO "an essential source of stability in an uncertain and unpredictable world," and says it must have the capability¹⁹ to respond quickly to new and complex challenges.  It says that means better planning, more intelligence sharing and strong focus on today's security issues, such as missile defense.  But the draft also acknowledges that "although NATO is busier than it has ever been, its value is less obvious to many" of its people than it was when the Soviet Union was a constant and very obvious threat.

At the Heritage Foundation, European security expert Sally McNamara does not disagree with that, but she says a year of consultation²⁰ is not what NATO needs to develop a consensus²¹. "I don't think a document or a process creates that.  I think consensus is something that you have to work at and it's something that will happen by action," she said.

McNamara says rather than talk about concepts most members already agree on, officials should focus on taking action to demonstrate the alliance's relevance, like spending more on defense and providing the troops, trainers and equipment needed to succeed in Afghanistan.

 

1 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

4 solidifying   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的现在分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• The substances are formed from a mixture of liquids solidifying under pressure. 这些材料是由几种液体混合在一起并加压使之凝固而成的。
• Painting is an art solidifies time and space for solidifying. 绘画是凝固了的时间和空间的艺术。

5 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

6 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

7 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

10 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

11 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。

12 onus   

n.负担；责任

参考例句：

• The onus is on government departments to show cause why information cannot bedisclosed.政府部门有责任说明不能把信息公开的理由。
• The onus of proof lies with you.你有责任提供证据。

13 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。

14 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

15 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

16 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

17 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

18 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

19 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。

20 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

21 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？