VOA慢速英语:Gates Says NATO Could Face 'Irrelevance' in the Future

American Defense Secretary Robert Gates has told NATO members that they need to do more -- and spend more -- to support the alliance.
美国国防部长罗伯特．盖茨已经告诉北约成员国必须为支持该联盟花更多时间，付出更多努力。

ROBERT GATES: "The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the US Congress -- and in the American body politic writ large -- to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense.”
罗伯特．盖茨：“最直接的事实是，美国国会和美国政体将越来越没有兴趣和耐心来逐渐增加珍贵的资金来代表那些明显不愿意投入更多必须的资源,或作出必要改变以便认真和有能力保卫他们自己国土的国家.

On Friday, Mr. Gates gave his last policy speech before he retires as defense secretary on June thirtieth. He spoke in Brussels, Belgium, at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO was created in nineteen forty-nine to defend western Europe against the Soviet Union.
周五，盖茨作出了他在职的最后一次政策性演讲，他将于6月30日卸任国防部长的职务。他在比利时布鲁塞尔北大西洋公约总部发表演讲。北约于1949年为了保护西欧对抗苏联而建立的。

Mr. Gates spoke about one current NATO operation -- the bombing campaign in Libya. He noted that all twenty-eight members voted for the mission. But less than half have taken part at all, he said, and fewer than a third have been willing to participate in the campaign. He said many allies want to take part but lack the resources.
盖茨谈到北约目前的一项行动——在利比亚的轰炸行动。他指出所有28个成员国都支持该项行动。但是他说，少于一半的成员国参加该行动，而且少于三分之一的成员国愿意加入该行动的。他称很多同盟国想加入，但是缺乏资源。

Last week NATO decided to extend its activities in Libya until the end of September.
上周，北约决定延续它在利比亚的活动直到九月底。

Mr. Gates said that by one estimate, European defense spending has fallen by nearly fifteen percent in the past ten years. He said this has affected what he called the first "hot" ground war in NATO history -- the war in Afghanistan.
盖茨称，据估计，欧洲的国防开支在过去十年已经下降了大约15%。他称这已经影响到他所称的北约历史上首次激烈的地面战争——阿富汗战争。

ROBERT GATES: "Despite more than two million troops in uniform - not counting the US military - NATO has struggled, at times desperately, to sustain a deployment of twenty-five thousand to forty-five thousand troops, not just in boots on the ground, but in crucial support assets."
罗伯特．盖茨：“尽管不包括美军在内已经有超过200万的正规军，但是北约在关键时刻已经很难维持一支25000—45000人的军队，不只是地面部队,而是全部的供给物资.

Mr. Gates said the American share of NATO defense spending has now risen to more than seventy-five percent. This is happening at a time when budget cuts are being considered in the United States. President Obama has called for an additional four hundred billion dollars in defense reductions.
盖茨称，美国在北约的国防开支所占的比例现在已经增加到超过75%了。这从美国开始担心预算赤字就发生了。奥巴马总统已经要求减少另外4000亿美元的国防开支。

Secretary of Defense Gates takes questions after his speech on NATO Friday
国防部长盖茨周五在北约的演讲后回答了一些提问。

Mr. Gates said nations must be responsible for their fair share of the common defense. He warned about the future of NATO unless Europe stops cutting back on defense spending. He said there is "the very real possibility of collective military irrelevance" for the alliance. He said future American leaders may not consider the return on America’s investment in NATO worth the cost.
盖茨称各国应该对他们所承担的共同国防开支份额负责。他就北约的未来提出警告，除非欧洲停止减少国防开支。他称，北约将来极有可能在联合军事行动方面脱离关系。他称未来美国领导人将不会考虑美国对北约的投资能否得到相应的回报。

President Obama's choice to become the next defense secretary is Leon Panetta. Mr. Panetta is currently the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA job would go to David Petraeus, currently the top American general in Afghanistan, if the Senate approves the nominations.
奥巴马总统提名利昂．帕内塔为下一届国防部长。帕内塔目前是中央情报局局长。如果参议院同意该提名，CIA的工作将由戴维．彼得雷接任，他目前是驻阿富汗美军总指挥。

President Obama wants to begin withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan next month. The goal is to end United States military operations in that country by the end of twenty-fourteen.
奥巴马总统决定下个月开始从阿富汗撤军。目标是到2014年美国结束对该国所采取的军事行动。

On Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a confirmation hearing for Mr. Panetta. Several senators gave him credit for being the person President Obama named to head the effort that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden. Mr. Panetta said he believed the killing gave the United States the best chance to defeat al-Qaida since the attacks of September eleventh, two thousand one.
周四，参议院军事委员会举行对怕内塔的任命听证会。几名参议员称赞他为奥巴马总统任命的领导杀死奥萨马．本．拉登的关键人物。帕内塔称，他相信此次谋杀是从2001年9.11恐怖袭击后，给美国提供了战胜基地组织最好的机会。