盖茨警告北约不要让美国人独挑大梁

He blamed this on dwindling resources. “Frankly, many of those allies sitting on the sidelines do so not because they do not want to participate, but simply because they cannot. The military capabilities simply aren't there,” Gates said.

盖茨把这些归咎于不断减少的资源。他说：“坦率地说，很多那些旁观的盟国之所以这样，不是因为他们不希望参加行动，而是因为他们无法参加。他们根本就不具备参加行动的军事能力。”

Gates quoted one estimate that total European defense spending has fallen by nearly 15% in the decade since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

盖茨引述一项估计数字说，从2001年911恐怖分子袭击美国的事件发生以来的10年间，整个欧洲的国防开支减少了将近百分之15。

He said this has affected Afghanistan - the first “hot” ground war in NATO history. “Despite more than two million troops in uniform - not counting the U.S. military - NATO has struggled, at times desperately, to sustain a deployment of 25,000 to 40,000 troops, not just in boots on the ground, but in crucial support assets,” he said.

他说，这个事实直接影响到阿富汗战场。阿富汗是北约历史上参加的第一个地面热战。盖茨说：“虽然不算美国军队在内的话，北约有2百多万部队，但是为了保持在阿富汗的2万5千到4万5千人的驻军，北约的其它国家有时都感到非常吃力。”

He said NATO allies must take a united way out of Afghanistan and not operate on their own timelines determined by domestic financial pressures.

盖茨说，北约盟国必须在阿富汗协同行动，而不是根据由于本国国内的经济压力而确定的时间表各自为战。

But as the U.S. military considers billions of dollars in spending cuts to ease Washington's own growing deficit, Gates warned that future U.S. politicians - not shaped during the Cold War like him - might not consider the return on America's investment in NATO worth the cost.

为了缓解美国不断增加的赤字，美国军方也正在考虑削减数十亿美元的开支。盖茨警告说，美国未来的政界人士， 那些不像他那样经历过冷战的人，可能会认为美国对北约的投资得不偿失。