The Atlantic Alliance Needs Tending

大西洋联盟需要呵护

The U.S. and Europe. These days, they bicker almost like a couple whose long marriage is in danger of unravelling. 最近美国和欧洲就像两个要结束婚姻长跑的

夫妇一样争吵不休。

The litany of misunderstandings and mutual resentment seems to be growing.

一系列的误解和相互的愤怒似乎与日剧增。

From the death penalty to steel tariffs, from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to military spending, there is an abyss between American and European positions on innumerable issues.

从死亡制裁到钢铁贸易壁垒,从巴以冲突到军费开支,美国和欧洲在许多事情上积怨已久。

Each side feels the other isn’t shouldering enough of the burdens facing both.
双方都认为对方没有承担足够的责任。

The Europeans see an unbending posture, from the Bush Administration’s protecting inefficient U.S. steel companies to its threats to take out Iraq’s Saddam Hussein—alone, if necessary. U.S. policymakers, for their part, are losing patience with Europeans’ inability to get serious about defence spending.

欧洲人认为美国态度强硬,从布什政府保护效率低下的美国钢铁公司,到威胁交出 Saddam Hussein,如有必要。而美国政府,从他们的角度来看,正对欧洲无法认真对待国防开支丧失耐心。

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The war in Afghanistan has brought home the reality that much of Europe has fallen behind in military technology.

阿富汗战争已经证实了欧洲军事科技落后这一事实。

And Washington is annoyed at Europe’s feckless attempts at economic reforms.
而且华府对欧洲无效的经济改革也感到不满。

As a result, Europe couldn’t play the role of economic locomotive to help pull the U.S. out of its downturn in 2001.

结果导致欧洲无力承担将美国从 2001 年的衰退中解救出来的经济牵引作用。

This year, Europe is set to grow less than the U.S. once again.
今年,欧洲经济增长计划再次低于美国。

Relationships in trouble can be fixed, and this one had better be.

紧张的关系可以固定,而欧美关系最好是固定的。

In a world increasingly fraught with danger, European leaders must commit themselves to bigger military budgets or risk being marginalised by the U.S. military machine.

在危险遍布,并不断增加的世界,欧洲领导人必须致力于争取更高额的军费预算或应对由美国军事武器衍生的危险。

The $ 45.1 billion hike in military spending the Bush Administration is pushing for next year is $12.1 billion more than the entire defence budget of France.

布什政府推行的高达 451 亿美元的下一年度军费开支比法国整个国防预算超出 121 亿美元。

The U.S. could help by opening up more of its vast military market to European partners.

通过增加其广阔军备市场的开放度,美国可帮助欧洲合作伙伴。

And Washington should realise that in many global challenges a smart multilateral approach can be much more effective than unilateralism.

华府应该意识到在许多全球挑战中,一个灵活的多边方案远比单边方案要有效的多。

A world in which the U.S. and Europe go off on their own, in which the Atlantic alliance is reduced to mere lip service to ideals long since abandoned, is a frightening one.

美国和欧洲各行其事,大西洋联盟沦落为仅仅服务于废弃已久的口头上的理想,这是可怕的世界。