2007年VOA标准英语-France Considers Rejoining NATO's Military Wing

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
24 September 2007

More than four decades after quitting NATO's military wing, France may be considering rejoining.  Critics say the move is largely symbolic¹, since Paris is already an active member in the transatlantic alliance.  But Lisa Bryant reports from Paris the move would reflect a larger foreign policy shift underway under French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Chances France might rejoin NATO's military command were raised earlier this month by French Defense² Secretary Herve Morin. 

In a speech in Toulouse, Morin said Paris does not reap the full benefits of NATO, despite being one of the organization's largest contributors.  Europe's military strategy cannot advance, he said, if Paris does not clarify its position within NATO.

Today, some analysts⁴ believe that chances of Paris rejoining NATO's military wing are better than they have been for years.  Christopher Chivvis is a transatlantic fellow at the French Institute of International Relations, in Paris.

"I think there is a real possibility.  It is not something that is going to happen overnight," Chivvis said. "But I think there is a real possibility that this could happen over the course of the next few years."

France pulled out of NATO's military wing in 1966, irked by what it saw as Washington's dominating role in the Brussels-based institution.  It crafted an independent military course, buttressed⁵ by a nuclear deterrence⁶ program.

But France was never out of the alliance.  It remained a key political player and active militarily.  Several-thousand French troops are stationed in Kabul and Kosovo, for example.

So Chivvis, for one, believes the benefits of France rejoining the military component⁷ will be largely symbolic.

"It would not change NATO's capabilities⁸ to undertake different kinds of military missions," Chivvis said. "What it would do, however, is - and this is the important point - on a political level make it clear that France remains⁹ committed to NATO as a military alliance.  As more than just a political alliance.  And that is what I think the real significance is."

But Leo Michel, an analyst³ at the National Defense University, in Washington DC, believes French military membership will make a difference.

"If France wants to have a greater say in the strategic direction of the alliance, one way to do so is to have a military presence at all levels where it can insert its voice," Michel said. "It is not credible¹⁰ to sit back and criticize the alliance for being too dominated by Americans when you, as a country, are playing with one hand tied behind your back."

Announcements of France's rejoining are not new.  They were made by former French president, Jacques Chirac, but never realized.  He later rejected a role for NATO in Iraq and Lebanon and championed an independent European defense policy - denying criticism it would undermine the Atlantic alliance.

Defense analyst at the Center for European Reform in London, Tomas Valasek, says under Chirac, transatlantic ties were at a low point during the U.S.-led war on Iraq, which was sharply criticized by the French.

"Chirac pretty systematically¹¹ sought to distance France from NATO and France from the United States," Valasek said. "He viewed himself as an inheritor of the de Gaulle tradition - and it was General de Gaulle who took France out of NATO's military structures.  Chirac also - particularly after the Iraq war - has clearly sought to position France as an alternative source of power to the United States.  And because NATO was viewed as being dominated by the United States, [French] foreign and defense ministers consistently tried to weaken NATO and undermine any new idea, any new initiative within the alliance.  There was no hope of French-NATO rapprochement under Chirac."

But France's current leader, Nicolas Sarkozy, casts himself as a break from that Gaullist past.  He has vowed¹² to alter traditional French-African relations and chilled ties with Russia.  Unlike previous French presidents, he is openly pro-Israel.  In August, he sent his foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, on a three-day visit to Iraq - the first by a top French envoy¹³ in years.

And while Chirac suggested France could live with a nuclear Iran, Sarkozy backs the Bush administration's push for toughened sanctions against Tehran.  Foreign Minister Kouchner sparked furor¹⁴ last week by warning to be prepared for war if Iran does not change its policies.

French analyst Dominique Moisi believes France's NATO policy may change as well.

"France has definitely come closer to the United States since the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as president," Moisi said. "There is a new tone, there is a new style, there is a return of confidence.  And of course, that does translate itself in the relationship between France and NATO."

But Moisi believes policies that appear too pro-American do not sell well in France.  And he says full NATO membership may not either.

1 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

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 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 buttressed   

v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court buttressed its decision. 法院支持自己的判决。 来自辞典例句
• The emotional appeal was buttressed with solid and specific policy details. 情感的感召有坚实的和详细的政策细节支持。 来自互联网

6 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

7 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

8 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

11 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

12 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

13 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

14 furor   

n.狂热；大骚动

参考例句：

• His choice of words created quite a furor.他的措辞引起了相当大的轰动。
• The half hour lecture caused an enormous furor.那半小时的演讲引起了极大的轰动。