评论
打印
European leaders are now punching back at the U.S.
欧洲领导人现已开始对美国发起反击。
French President Emmanuel Macron said, “We don’t mind being G-6, if needs be,”
法国总统马克龙声称，“如有必要，我们也不介意变成六国集团。”
while the E.U. retaliated on June 22 with its own tariffs on U.S. goods.
欧盟则在6月22日开始对美国商品征收关税。
“The initial idea of playing nice with Donald Trump has been demonstrably proven to yield no benefits,”
“事实证明，最初那种与唐纳德·特朗普友好相处的想法没有带来任何成效，”
says Anthony Gardner, who served as U.S. ambassador to the E. U. from 2014 to ’17.
曾在2014~2017年间担任美国驻欧盟大使的安东尼·加德纳说。
BUT THERE IS far more at stake when it comes to NATO.
然而，北约问题涉及的利害关系远不止于此。
Since Putin annexed Crimea in 2014,
自2014年普京吞并克里米亚以来，
nations along NATO’s eastern flank have been increasingly concerned by Russian aggression
北约东翼沿线各国日渐关切俄罗斯的入侵，
and still see the U.S. as the most important backer of their security.
并仍视美国为其安全背后最为坚定的支持者。
“Without the United States, European security would be in great danger,”
“没有美国，欧洲的安全将处于极大的危险之中，”
says Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics.
拉脱维亚外交部长埃德加·林科维克斯说道。
“We can’t simply build something that would exclude the United States: look at the resources, look at capabilities.”
“我们不能说搞一个把美国排除在外的组织就搞一个：看看美国带来了多少资源，多大威力。”
Indeed, the Pentagon’s European Deterrence Initiative will spend nearly $4.8 billion this fiscal year and plans on $6.5 billion in 2019.
诚然，五角大楼的欧洲威慑计划本财年的支出就已接近48亿美元，明年的预算更是高达65亿美元。
“The American people remain committed to this alliance,” said Air Force Major Sheryll Klinkel, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
“对美国和欧洲的这一联盟，美国民众依然初心未改，”五角大楼发言人、空军少校谢里尔·克林克尔说。
But tensions between the U.S. and Germany may come to the fore,
但美德两国关系或将陷入紧张状态，
since Berlin spends comparatively less on defense than other major powers.
因为柏林的国防支出不及其他大国。
With that in mind, German defense officials traveled to Washington ahead of the summit
鉴于此，德国国防官员已经提前前往华盛顿，
to try to sell a plan to increase defense spending to 1.5% by 2025, though it would fall short of the 2% target.
企图说服美国接受德国在2025年前将国防开支比例上调至1.5%的计划，尽管并未达到（2014年设置的）2%的目标。
After the meeting, Defense Secretary James Mattis said Germany was “on the right track.”
会后，国防部长詹姆斯·马蒂斯表示，德国“这么做是对的”。
Rasmussen urges NATO members to keep discussions about defense spending behind closed doors,
拉斯穆森敦促北约各国不要公开讨论国防开支，
cautioning that a public disagreement might raise doubt over the U.S.’s commitment to Article 5,
声称，公开出现分歧或将引发外界对美国是否遵守了该组织协定的第五条——
the clause that says all NATO members will respond if one is threatened.
该条款规定，如果联盟有一方受到威胁，所有北约成员国都需作出回应——的质疑。
“Putin might take it as a signal that when push comes to shove, (the U.S.) will not be ready to really defend its allies,” he says.
“（因为）普京可能将此视为危机关头，(美国)并不会做好保卫盟友的准备的信号，”他说。
“It sends a very dangerous signal to autocrats.”
“这就向独裁统治者们释放了非常危险的信号。”
At last year’s summit, Trump caused a stir by refusing to explicitly affirm his commitment to Article 5
在去年的峰会上，在纪念2001年9月11日的恐怖袭击的演讲中，
in a speech at a memorial to the attacks of Sept.11, 2001,
特朗普拒绝明确确认他会遵守协议第五条，为此引发了不小的轰动，
when the U.S. became the first member to invoke the clause.
而就在恐怖袭击发生的那一年，美国成为了率先援引该条款的成员国。
He corrected that a few weeks later, reportedly on the advice of his national-security team.
几周后，他更正了说辞，据报道，他是在国家安全团队的建议下做出的这一举措。
Rasmussen hopes that this time, Trump will also listen to figures like Mattis, who has served as a NATO commander.
拉斯穆森希望，这一次，川普也会听取曾担任北约指挥官的马蒂斯等人的意见。
In February, the retired general told reporters, “NATO remains our No.1 alliance.”
今年2月，这位退役将军在接受采访时告诉记者：“北约仍然是我们的头号联盟。”
