Tillerson Says U.S. Committed to NATO

 

Speaking in Brussels at a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers on March 31, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the United States is strongly committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. This transatlantic political and military alliance came into being in 1949, at the start of the Cold War, in response to aggressive tactics used by the Soviet¹ Union against its former, Western allies in liberated² Europe.

“This Alliance was forged from the ashes of World War II, and for more than half a century has been a necessary defense³ measure against common threats. Our bond remains⁴ essential for facing national and international security challenges in an increasingly unstable⁵ world,” said Secretary Tillerson.

So for example, NATO member states are working together to defeat ISIS, which is a threat to every country. As well, NATO's engagement in Afghanistan is critical, because peace there will ensure that Afghanistan will never again becomes a safe haven⁶ for terrorists. And once again, the Alliance is countering both violent and non-violent agitation⁷ and aggression⁸ coming out of Russia.

“The United States is committed to ensuring NATO has the capabilities⁹ to support our collective defense. We understand that a threat against one of us is a threat against all of us, and we will respond accordingly. We will uphold the agreements we have made to defend our allies,” said Secretary Tillerson.

But that doesn't mean that that the United States will not insist on some changes. All member states must increase their military spending to 2 percent of their gross domestic product, as had been agreed at the 2014 Wales summit. The Alliance's ability to secure the transatlantic community depends on it, said Secretary Tillerson.

“The United States will not abandon its allies or forget its friends. Many of the nations in NATO have been working together for decades to protect shared freedoms, shared values, and shared security. But we cannot keep protecting them without meeting our shared responsibility of financial and other resources,” he said.

“Long term stability, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, depends upon all allies, not just those who are the most exposed, paying their full share for defending the Alliance.”

1 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。

2 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

3 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。

4 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。

5 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

6 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

7 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

8 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

9 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