VOA常速英语2008年-NATO to Invite New Members to Join Military All

By Andre de Nesnera
Washington
28 March 2008

When heads of state and government from the 26-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meet in Bucharest, Romania next week, one of the key issues will be expanding the alliance to bring in new members. In this report from Washington, VOA Senior Correspondent André de Nesnera looks at the controversy¹ surrounding some of the countries vying² for membership.

Analysts³ say two countries will be invited to join: Albania and Croatia. But the status of a third country - Macedonia, officially know as The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - is unclear.

Robert Hunter, former U.S. ambassador to NATO in the Clinton administration, says Greece has threatened to veto Macedonia's membership.

"The Greeks are worried, because they have a province called Macedonia, and they are worried that maybe somebody is going to grab for that," he said.  "I think, this is something where the Greeks really need to recede⁴ and accept that a country can call itself what it wants, and better to have them in NATO than not. That should be resolved."

The debate over Macedonia's name began when it sought independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. Patrick Jackson, a NATO expert at American University says a compromise will be difficult to reach.

"Compromise, when it comes to issues that have been culturally constructed as indivisible or essential to people's identity are always very, very difficult to broker," he said.  "I don't know.  See, if it were an ordinary economic or political issue, then there's always the possibility of side-payments and 'we give you consideration in something else.' It's kind of difficult to imagine what kind of cultural side-payment, if you will, could be made to Greece to give them an incentive⁵ to swallow this."

Another issue facing NATO leaders is what to do about the request from Georgia and Ukraine, two former Soviet⁶ republics, to begin the process of full membership.

The United States favors such a first step. But Russia - a non-NATO member and wary⁷ of NATO encroaching on its borders - is strongly opposed to the prospect⁸ of Ukraine and Georgia joining the alliance. So are some NATO countries, such as Germany and France.

During a recent meeting in Washington with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, President Bush repeated the U.S. view.

"I believe that NATO benefits with a Georgian membership," he said.  "I believe Georgia benefits from being a part of NATO. And I told the president that's the message I'll be taking to Bucharest soon."

Before attending the NATO summit, Mr. Bush will travel to Ukraine. Charles Kupchan, with the Council on Foreign Relations, says that visit is a provocation⁹ to Russia.

"It is - and it is consistent with most of Bush's trips to Europe," he explained.  "He almost always tries to stop in somewhere that's part of the former eastern bloc¹⁰. It's part of his freedom agenda - let's make a visit to the Baltics, let's stop in Georgia, let's go to Ukraine.  And it's a way of sort of giving a shot in the arm, but it does kind of put the thumb in the eye of the Russians."

While Russia is not a member of NATO, it has contacts with the military alliance through the NATO-Russia Council established in 2002. That gives Russian officials and NATO members a forum¹¹ in which to discuss important issues. It is in that context that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to the Bucharest summit.

Many experts, including Aslé Tojé from the Norwegian Institute for Defense¹² Studies, say there are several reasons why NATO members might not invite Georgia and Ukraine to begin the membership process.

"One is the question of Kosovo, where a lot of European countries are eager for the Russians to play a constructive¹³ role in this process and they feel that issuing invitations to Ukraine and Georgia would further alienate¹⁴ the Russians," he noted¹⁵.  "Second, there is the case of very strong internal divisions on the question of membership in Ukraine. And, in the case of Georgia, they have the dual¹⁶ question of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two parts of the country that have broken off from Georgia. So effectively, the country has unresolved territorial¹⁷ disputes which is something that, traditionally, NATO has been very skeptical¹⁸ of bringing into the fold."

As NATO focuses its attention on new members and other issues - such as its role in Afghanistan - experts say the outcome of the summit will help shape the future and cohesion¹⁹ of an alliance that is still redefining itself 16 years after the collapse²⁰ of the Soviet Union.

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

3 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。

4 recede   

vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进

参考例句：

• The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
• He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

5 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

6 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。

7 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

8 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

9 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

10 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

11 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

12 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。

13 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

14 alienate   

vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等)

参考例句：

• His attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith.他离间那两个朋友的企图失败了，因为他们彼此完全信任。
• We'd better not alienate ourselves from the colleagues.我们最好还是不要与同事们疏远。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

16 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

17 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

18 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。

19 cohesion   

n.团结，凝结力

参考例句：

• I had to bring some cohesion into the company.我得使整个公司恢复凝聚力。
• The power of culture is deeply rooted in the vitality,creativity and cohesion of a nation. 文化的力量，深深熔铸在民族的生命力、创造力和凝聚力之中。

20 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。