VOA常速英语2008年-Bush Meets NATO Secretary General

By Scott Stearns
White House
29 February 2008

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop¹ Scheffer says the trans-Atlantic alliance is winning the war in Afghanistan and is a force for peace in an independent Kosovo. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, the NATO leader met with President Bush Friday for talks ahead of April's NATO summit in Romania.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, President Bush said the United States is committed to the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

"We are committed to a comprehensive strategy that helps folks in Afghanistan realize security at the same time economic prosperity and political progress."

While all 26 NATO members have troops in Afghanistan, some have limited their deployments to safer areas where combat with Taliban fighters is less likely.

The United States wants more NATO troops from more member states on the frontlines.

De Hoop Scheffer said the alliance has a long-term commitment to Afghanistan.

"We are there for the long haul. We are there to support President Karzai and the Afghan people," he said. "But we are also there because we are fighting terrorism, and we cannot afford to lose. We will not lose. We are not losing. We are prevailing³."

The status of that fight and the deployment² of member troops will be a major topic at April's NATO summit in Bucharest.

The two leaders discussed the summit agenda which will also include U.S. plans for a missile defense⁴ system in Europe and a vote on expanding the alliance to include Croatia, Albania, and Macedonia.

President Bush said he appreciates NATO's role in helping⁵ stabilize⁶ the Balkans, where NATO air strikes stopped Belgrade's crackdown on ethnic⁷ Albanian separatists in 1999 and drove Serbian security forces from Kosovo.

Serbia opposes Kosovo's declaration of independence earlier this month, saying it violates terms of a United Nations mandate⁸ that has administered the province for the last nine years.

The United States has recognized the newly independent Kosovo and President Bush has commended Kosovo's leaders for vowing⁹ to protect the rights of both the majority Albanians and minority Serbs.

De Hoop Scheffer said NATO forces in Kosovo are there to protect all Kosovars - Albanians and Serbs.

The NATO summit in Romania runs from April 2 - 4.

1 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

2 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

3 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

4 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。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

9 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。