美国政要第2课
The Role of Alliances and Future Operations
-- Interview with the Chairman of the National Defense Panel, Philip A. Odeen(April 10, 1998) 访国防小组委员会主席菲利普•奥迪思
MR. CHEN BOJIANG: How do you view the role of alliances in international security and regional stability in the future? Will it be changed somewhat in content and form from today?
MR. ODEEN: I think alliances will continue to be very important in the future. I mean, our principal alliance is still active, and it is changing of course with admission of new countries, it’s gotten larger. Its military purposes are not as clear because you don’t have a Soviet threat any more.
The first time NATO1 had operated2 outside of its own area was when they went into Bosnia. That was quite a change. And so I believe you’ll see NATO wiling to operate outside of the European theaters more over time, but as the alliance gets larger and more and more countries are involved, it also makes it harder to get a consensus, to get agreement, and so it will be more difficult.
The United States has really dominated NATO for many, many years, but our position is not as powerful as it was, I think probably because the big threat is gone. The Soviet threat’s gone. So although the structure is still there, but I think the American influence is not quite as strong, and in 5 or 10 years it may be weaker yet.
In Asia, we don’t really have alliances like that. Japan, of course, is still a major ally. Korea is probably the most obvious ally, but they are really focused on the North Korea problem. If North Korea were to go away, if they ever did combine, that alliance would be of much less purpose at that point. There has been a strengthening of the U.S.-Japan relationship over the last 2 or 3 years, and I think Japan is much more essential, critical.
So I think it’s harder to forecast in Asia, because it depends very much on Japan to some extent. Will Japan’s economy recover? If America stays involved in Asia, I think there’s a good chance that Japan will remain as they are. If America begins to pull back, there will be a lot of pressure in Japan for them to build up their armaments.
So there’s a lot of dynamics3 going on in Asia between China, and Japan, and the United States that are very hard to forecast. You can’t forecast it. I don’t think it’s inevitable that we have to be hostile to one another. I think there are many opportunities for the relationship to get closer over time. And I hope that’s what will happen. And I think both China and the United States-perhaps maybe our most important foreign policy objective ought to be to maintain a good relationship with one another, because we’re both large and potentially hostile countries, and if we become hostile, it’s going to be bad for everybody. We’ll both have to spend more money in defense. There will be many problems.
So I think it’s very important that we continue to try to build good relations, good trade relations, investment. I think it’s very healthy to have Chinese students in the United States, more Americans going to China. We need to work on that, I think. It’s very important for both countries that we do that.
MR. CHEN: It is likely that urban operations4 will become more important in the future. What are your comments on the importance of urban operations?
MR. ODEEN: One of the things that’s happening in every country in the world, China and everywhere, is the cities are getting much, much larger, and people are leaving the country and moving to the cities, because of course there are job opportunity there. And that’s happening in Africa. It’s happening everywhere, and especially in areas like South America, Central America. But it’s happening in most parts of the world. And also the urban areas tend to be the areas where the discontent-that’s where radical elements may be. It’s easier to organize in large urban areas. So if there are terrorist groups that are opposing the government, and the government has to come in and help them, you’re going to have to operate in cities. And it’s something that’s very difficult for military forces to operate in cities. Nobody likes to fight in cities. The military are very vulnerable.
One of the things that the U.S. military has to do is to learn both better tactics5 and also develop better equipment. The Marine Corps6 is setting up a training area in California, out in the desert, an urban training facility to train in how to work in cities, what are the tactics you use, how do you operate effectively.
There’s also a good bit of money being spent on better technology. There are sensors that can detect a person behind a wall, because of very small temperature differences and using various kinds of radars, and infrared, and things like that. So there may be different ways to use technology to make it more effective to fight in those circumstances.
But this is something that generally the American military has avoided fighting into-they can just go around them, and leave them, and try to stay out of the cities. But that will not continue to work I don’t think.
MR. CHEN: What is your comment on the importance of U.S. power projection capability in the future? Does the U.S. attempt to strengthen its power projection capability mean a reduction in its forward presence in the future?
MR. ODEEN: We are a long way away without having to take as much logistic7 support along. The Air Force has concepts for deploying aircraft squadrons8 with only very small amounts of support in relying on a resupply to send your replacement parts and black boxes from the United States, using airlift rather than putting big maintenance activities at air fields, finding ways to resupply more rapidly from the distance, rather than having it all there.
Even the use of smart weapons9 requires less weight, less tonnage. Fewer weapons will do the job, so you don’t have to have as much stuff. The old style iron bombs are very heavy and difficult to move.
So there’s a lot of new concepts, tactics and equipment that let us put forces a long ways to the United States, very quickly, and more easily because you don’t have to take as much stuff along.
One of the things when we were doing our study, when we traveled dither to Asia or to Europe, the question always was, are you going to keep 100,000 Americans-there was about 100,000 in Asia, about 100,000 in Europe. Are you going to keep them there for a long time? But it’s a political sign of American commitment, and if there are no forces there, people are not assured that we’ll bring them when they need them, so they see them as a sign of our commitment, sign of our guarentee. In Korea, for example, if there are Americans there, and the Americans are going to get involved, to get killed on day one if there’s an attack from the North Koreans, they know that the Americans will be involved. If they’re not there, then there may be questions, there may be doubts. So maybe having them there is a deterrent in a difficult situation like Korea.
And even though we’re better at deploying, it’s always easier if you’re closer, and especially if you have bases for ships to go in to refuel, and for maintenance10. Like we have in parts of Japan or Singapore, or Australia, Guam, places like that. Because the distances in Asia are so great, from the United States to Southeast Asia or Northeast Asia, it’s helpful to have them.
So I believe we’ll have forces fully deployed for a long time. I don’t know how long that is, but I don’t see-the fact that we can deploy them better, I don’t see that mattering, because I think much of why they’re there is political rather than military.
WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS 词汇提示
1.NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) 北约
2.operate [] v. 遂行军事行动
3.dynamics [] n. 发展动力
4.urban operations 城市作战
5.tactics [] n. 战术
6.the Marine Corps 海军陆战队
7.logistic [] n. 后勤
8.squadrons [] n. 空军中队
9.smart weapon 精确制导武器，智能武器
10.maintenance [] n. 维护，保养
QUESTIONS AFTER LISTENING 听后答题:
1. How did MR. ODEEN think about the role of alliances in the future?
A.Alliances would quit the stage in the future.
B.Alliances would continue to be very important in the future.
C.Alliances would beless important in the future.
D.Alliances would be narrowed in scope in the future.
2. Why did MR. ODEEN think that their position in NATO now was not as powerful as it had been?
A.Because the U.S. is weaker than before.
B.Because European countries are stronger than before.
C.Because the neo-isolationism is stronger in the U.S..
D.Because the Soviet threats have gone.
3. Which of the mutual relationships is much more essential and critical for the U.S. in the Asia-Pacific region?
A.U.S. -Korea.
B.U.S. -Britain.
C.U.S. -Japan.
D.U.S. -Germany.
4. Why did MR. ODEEN think that the foreign policy objective in both China and the United States ought to be maintaining a good relationship with one another?
A.Because both are large and potentially hostile countries.
B.Because both are large and friendly countries.
C.Because both are developing countries in the world.
D.Because both are developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
5. What is happening in every country in the world according to Mr.ODEEN?
A.It is the cities are getting much, much larger.
B.It is the population is getting large and larger.
C.It is the weather is getting warmer and warmer.
D.It is the environment is getting worse and worse.
6. What does the U.S. military have to do in dealing with urban operations?
A,To develop nuclear weapons.
B.To learn better tactics and develop better equipment in how to operate in cities.
C.To expand its military forces.
D.To strengthen its Marine Corps.
7.What’s the meaning of the sentence “we are a long way away without having to take as much logistic support along.”
A.We have a long way to go to set up an urban training facility.
B.We have a long way to go to deploy new military forces in the Mideast Asia.
C.We can deploy a new force far from the bases without heavy logistic support.
D.We have to take much logistic support all the way from the bases.
8.What’s the purpose of the U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region in ODEEN’s words?
A.It is to avoid a war.
B.It is to take a commitment.
C.It is to keep stability.
D.It is to deter a threat like North Korea.
9.In what places are there U.S. military bases for ship refueling and maintenance according to Mr. ODEEN?
A.Japan, Australia and Taiwan.
B.Korea, Japan and Singapore.
C.Thailand, Japan and Guam.
D.Japan, Singapore, Australia and Guam.
10.What’s the meaning of the sentence “I don’t see that mattering.”
A.I don’t understand the matter.
B.I don’t find out the matter.
C.I don’t think the matter is vital.
D.I don’t know the matter.
【参考译文】
联盟的作用与未来作战
陈伯江：您怎样看待联盟在未来国际安全和地区稳定中的作用？在联盟的内容和形式上，将会出现哪些与今天有所不同的变化？
奥迪恩：我认为联盟在今后仍将非常重要。我的意思是，我们的主要联盟体系仍将不变，但要随着新国家的加盟有所变化。联盟变得更大了。由于苏联的威胁不复存在，联盟的军事目的不够明确。
北大西洋公约组织首次在它以外的地区作战就是进入波斯尼亚，这是一个相当大的变化。我认为随着时间推移，你将会看到北大西洋公约组织愿意更多地在欧洲以外地区作战。但是由于该组织的扩大，涉及的国家越来越多，这也将使它更难达成一致，因而其行动将会更加困难。
美国在北大西洋公约组织中起主导作用已经有许多年了，但我们的领导地位不再像以往那样有力。我认为这大概是苏联的威胁已不存在的缘故。所以尽管该组织结构依旧，我认为美国的影响已今不如昔，在今后５或１０年也许会更弱。
在亚洲，我们没有像北大西洋公约组织那样的联盟。当然，日本仍是主要的盟国。韩国大概也是最明显的盟国。但韩国的重点在北朝鲜问题上。如果北朝鲜不再存在，如果他们能统一起来，在这种情况下，联盟的意义将会大大削弱。过去２、３年中，美日关系已得到加强，我认为日本更加重要和关键。
我认为亚洲未来的预测更加困难因为害某种程度上与日本有非常密切的关系。日本的经济能否会继续保持现状；如果美国开始撤军，日本将面临发展自己的武装力量的巨大压力。
因此，在亚洲，在日和中美之间存在着大量难以预测的发展动向。你不可能预测。我认为随着时间的推移，有许多的机会使我们的关系越来越密切。并且我希望将会是这样。也许我们最重要的外交政策目标，应当是保持我们之间的良好关系，加为我们都是大国并是潜在的对手。如果我们变为敌人，将对谁都不好。我们都不得不在国防上花更多铁钱，这将会带来许多问题。
所以我认为中美两国继续努力发展良好的外交关系、贸易关系以及投资是非常重要的。让中国学生到美国，让更多的美国人去中国也是非常有益的。我们需要为此而努力，对我们两国来说，这样做都很重要。
陈：在今后，城市作战将变得更加重要。您对城市作战的重要性有何评论？
奥迪恩：世界上每个国家（包括中国和其它地方）正在发生的诸多变化之一，就是城市越来越大，人们正在离开农村到城里去，因为那里有更多的工作机会。这种情况发生在非洲，发生在世界上大多数地区，尤其是南美和中美地区。
与此同时，城市也正在成为滋生不满，即可能出现激进因素的区域。在大城市更容易发展组织。因此，如果出现反政府的恐怖组织，政府就必须进行干预，军队将不得不在城市作战。军队在城市作战非常困难，没有人愿意在城里打仗，军队将非常脆弱。
为了适应城市作战，美国军队需做许多事情。其中之一是既要掌握更好的战术又要发展更好的装备。海军陆战队现正在加利福尼亚州的沙漠地带建设一个训练区，该训练区利用训练城市作战的设施，训练如何在城市作战，采用何种战术，以及怎样有效地进行作战。
为研制用于城市作战的更先进的技术，也花了不少钱。现已有多种传感器能探测躲在墙后的人，因为人与墙有微小的温差，可利用雷达、红外线以及诸如此类的传感器进行探测。运用技术使军队更有效地在城区环境下作战的方式可以是多种多样的。
然而，一般说来，美军以往总是避免进行城区作战。他们尽可能绕开城市，离开城市，并设法滞留城外。但我认为今后不能再这样继续下去了。
陈：您对未来美国力量投送能力的重要性有何看法？美国试图在今后加强其力量投送能力是否意味着将减少其前沿存在？
奥迪恩：我们能够远距高部署部队，而不需要携带太多的后勤保障物品。空军部署飞行中队的做法是只随机携带很少的补给品，而依靠从美国本土运送各种备件和电子设备组件的再补给。利用空运，可以不在机场进行大修活动。我们设法更快地从远处进行再补给，而不是在当地完成所有补给。
由于智能武器的运用，所需要的重量和吨位更少。只需少量武器就可完成任务，因而你不必运送很多物品。老式的炸弹非常笨重，搬运困难。
因此，有许多新的概念、战术和装备，使我们能在远离本土的地方非常快速并更容易地部署部队。因为你不需要自身携带太多的物品。
在我们进行这一问题的研究时，无论我们到亚洲还是到欧洲，我们总会遇到这样的问题：你们将继续保持１０万美军-即大约１０万美军在亚洲，１０万美军在欧洲吗？你们会长期保留这些驻军吗？海外驻军是美国承担义务的政治标志。如果我们不在那里驻军，人们无法确定当他们南要的时候，我们是否会派军队去。因此他们把美国驻军看作是承担义务的标志、守信的标志。
例如，在朝鲜，如果有美军有那里，而且美国准备在北朝鲜发动进攻的第一天就会有伤亡，他们就会知道美国不会袖手旁观。如果美军不在那里，那么就可能会出现问题和疑惑。所以在像朝鲜那样困难的情况下，美军留在那里就可能是一种威慑因素。
虽然我们有很强的部署能力，如果部署距离更近就会更容易，特别是如果你有能让船只开进去加油和维护的基地，就会更方便一些。就像我们在日本，或新加坡，或澳大利亚、关岛拥有的基地那样。因为从美国到东南亚或东北亚的距离太遥远，有这些基地就很有帮助。
所以，我认为我们将会在海外长期部署足够的部队。我不知道会有多长，而且我不认为我们有了更强的部署能力与这有多大的关系。因为我认为他们所以要留在那里的主要原因是政治上的，而非军事上的。
KEYS TO THE QUESTIONS 参考答案：
1. b 2. d 3. c 4. a 5. a 6. b 7.c 8. c 9.d 10.c
- 频道推荐
- |
- 全站推荐
- 推荐下载
- 网站推荐
