蓋茨警告北約不要讓美國人獨挑大樑

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates cautioned NATO allies Friday that they need to share more of the burden in the more than 60-year-old transatlantic alliance. His comments came during his last policy speech before stepping down as defense secretary at the end of the month.

美國國防部長蓋茨6月10日(星期五)警告北約盟國說，他們需要爲這個成立60多年的跨大西洋聯盟分擔更多的責任。他是在6月底即將卸任美國國防部長一職前，在北約進行最後一次政策演講中說這番話的。

Gates had a dire warning for NATO allies - that the time for America covering more than 75% of the coalition's defense spending is over. “The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the United States' Congress - and in the American body politic writ large - to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense,” he said.

Speaking Friday in Brussels in what has been billed as his last policy speech before retiring June 30, Gates reminded the coalition of his past concerns that NATO would become a two-tiered alliance. “Between those willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of alliance commitments, and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership but don't want to share the risks and the costs. This is no longer a hypothetical worry. We are there today. And it is unacceptable,” Gates said.

在6月30日即將卸任美國國防部長一職的蓋茨，星期五在北約總部發表了他的最後一次政策演講。蓋茨對盟國重申了他一直以來的擔憂，那就是北約可能會變成一個雙軌聯盟。他說：“嚴峻的現實是，美國國會和美國政界會越來越失去耐心和越來越不願意爲一些國家花費越來越寶貴的資金。 這些國家不願意爲了自己的國防奉獻出必要的人力物力，或是進行必要的改革，以成爲北約認真和有能力的夥伴。”

Gates pointed to the ongoing operations in Libya as an example.

蓋茨以正在對利比亞採取的行動爲例。

He said that even though all 28 NATO members voted for the mission against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, less than half have participated and fewer than a third have been willing to participate in the strike mission.

他說，雖然北約所有28個成員國都表決贊成採取針對利比亞領導人卡扎菲的軍事行動，但是隻有不到一半的國家參加了行動，不到三分之一的國家願意參加空襲行動。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.

蓋茨把這些歸咎於不斷減少的資源。他說：“坦率地說，很多那些旁觀的盟國之所以這樣，不是因爲他們不希望參加行動，而是因爲他們無法參加。他們根本就不具備參加行動的軍事能力。”

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.

蓋茨引述一項估計數字說，從2001年911恐怖分子襲擊美國的事件發生以來的10年間，整個歐洲的國防開支減少了將近百分之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.

他說，這個事實直接影響到阿富汗戰場。阿富汗是北約歷史上參加的第一個地面熱戰。蓋茨說：“雖然不算美國軍隊在內的話，北約有2百多萬部隊，但是爲了保持在阿富汗的2萬5千到4萬5千人的駐軍，北約的其它國家有時都感到非常吃力。”

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

蓋茨說，北約盟國必須在阿富汗協同行動，而不是根據由於本國國內的經濟壓力而確定的時間表各自爲戰。

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.

爲了緩解美國不斷增加的赤字，美國軍方也正在考慮削減數十億美元的開支。蓋茨警告說，美國未來的政界人士， 那些不像他那樣經歷過冷戰的人，可能會認爲美國對北約的投資得不償失。