News and Politics, NATO at 60: A War in Afghanistan, and a Purpose to Redefine

NATO at 60: A War in Afghanistan, and a Purpose to Redefine

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is sixty years old. On April fourth, nineteen forty-nine, twelve countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington. They were allies from World War Two. They promised to protect each other from the growing threat they saw from another former ally, the Soviet Union.

Leaders from NATO countries have gathered for two days of meetings through Saturday in Strasbourg, France, and Kehl, Germany. The summit meetings also brought thousands of troops and police for security and to control protests.

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said the main subject at the sixtieth anniversary meetings would be the NATO operations in Afghanistan. President Obama announced a new policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan last week.

About thirty-eight thousand American troops are currently in Afghanistan. The president is moving to raise that to about sixty-eight thousand by the end of the year.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the breakup of Yugoslavia in the nineteen nineties challenged NATO's traditional position as a defensive alliance. Ten years ago at this time, NATO was bombing Serbia to end its violent campaign against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

NATO first brought together the countries of Western Europe with Canada and the United States. Today it includes former enemies of NATO that were members of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. NATO's expansion to the east, toward the borders of Russia, has raised Russian concerns. This week, Albania and Croatia officially joined NATO - bringing the alliance to twenty-eight nations. And French President Nicholas Sarkozy has decided to return France to NATO's military command for the first time in more than forty years. Looking to the future, spokesman James Appathurai says there are questions that NATO must answer.

"What do we need to do: Should we do more to fight cyber attacks? Should we do more to engage in energy security? How far should NATO's reach be for operations? Who should our partners be and how should we engage them?" On Thursday, leaders of major industrial and developing countries met in London to battle the world recession. The Group of Twenty agreed to finance one trillion dollars in additional loans and credits for struggling countries. The money will go to the International Monetary Fund and other lenders.

President Obama said there is no guarantee that all the steps agreed to at the meeting will work, but:

"I think we applied the right medicine. I think the patient is stabilized. There are still wounds that have to heal. There are still emergencies that could arise. But I think you have some pretty good care being applied." The American president will meet with European Union leaders in the Czech Republic on Sunday. He talked about the summit at a meeting of mainly French and German students in Strasbourg on Friday. He says that in Prague he will lay out a plan to seek the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. Then Barack Obama heads to Turkey for the last stop on his first trip to Europe as president.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Doug Johnson. Transcript of radio broadcast: 03 April 2009

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NATO at 60: A War in Afghanistan, and a Purpose to Redefine North Atlantic Treaty Organization|||conflict||Afghanistan War|||goal||reassess Die NATO zum 60. Jahrestag: Ein Krieg in Afghanistan und ein neu zu definierendes Ziel Το ΝΑΤΟ στα 60: Ένας πόλεμος στο Αφγανιστάν και ένας σκοπός που πρέπει να επαναπροσδιοριστεί La OTAN a los 60: Una guerra en Afganistán y un propósito que redefinir L'OTAN à 60 ans : une guerre en Afghanistan et un objectif à redéfinir La NATO a 60 anni: una guerra in Afghanistan e uno scopo da ridefinire 60歳のNATO：アフガニスタンでの戦争、そして再定義すべき目的 60주년의 NATO: 아프가니스탄 전쟁, 그리고 재정의의 목적 NATO sulaukė 60 metų: karas Afganistane ir tikslas, kurį reikia apibrėžti iš naujo A NATO aos 60 anos: uma guerra no Afeganistão e um objetivo a redefinir НАТО в 60 лет: война в Афганистане и цель, которую нужно переосмыслить NATO 60 Yaşında: Afganistan'da Bir Savaş ve Yeniden Tanımlanması Gereken Bir Amaç НАТО у 60 років: війна в Афганістані і мета, яку потрібно переосмислити 北约成立 60 周年：阿富汗战争和重新定义的目的北約成立 60 週年：阿富汗戰爭與重新定義的目的

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. ||||current events||Voice of America|program|English

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is sixty years old. ||Atlantic|North Atlantic|agreement|NATO||sixty|sixty years|years old On April fourth, nineteen forty-nine, twelve countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington. In|April|the fourth|nineteen|nineteen forty|nineteen|12||agreed to||||||Washington DC They were allies from World War Two. |past tense verb|partners||War|| They promised to protect each other from the growing threat they saw from another former ally, the Soviet Union. |vowed||shield|every|one another|||increasing|danger||perceived||a different|previous|partner||Soviet Union|Soviet Union

Leaders from NATO countries have gathered for two days of meetings through Saturday in Strasbourg, France, and Kehl, Germany. NATO leaders||||have gathered|convened|||meetings|of|discussions|until|the end||Strasbourg France|in France||Kehl Germany|Kehl The summit meetings also brought thousands of troops and police for security and to control protests. |top-level meetings||in addition|sent|a large number||military personnel||law enforcement||safety measures|||manage|demonstrations

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said the main subject at the sixtieth anniversary meetings would be the NATO operations in Afghanistan. |representative|NATO spokesman|James Appathurai|stated||primary|topic||the|60th|milestone celebration||will be|be verb|||military activities|| President Obama announced a new policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan last week. President Obama|President Obama|made a statement||recent|plan of action||||the country|previous|the previous week

About thirty-eight thousand American troops are currently in Afghanistan. Approximately|||thousand|United States|||at present|| The president is moving to raise that to about sixty-eight thousand by the end of the year. |||planning||increase|that amount||||||||conclusion of|||calendar year Le président souhaite porter ce chiffre à environ 68 000 d'ici la fin de l'année.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the breakup of Yugoslavia in the nineteen nineties challenged NATO's traditional position as a defensive alliance. |falling apart|||||||disintegration||Yugoslavia||||1990s|||historical|role|in the role of||military protection|military coalition L'effondrement de l'Union soviétique et l'éclatement de la Yougoslavie dans les années 90 ont remis en question la position traditionnelle de l'OTAN en tant qu'alliance défensive. Ten years ago at this time, NATO was bombing Serbia to end its violent campaign against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. a decade||in the past|||||was conducting|conducting airstrikes|Serbia||||||targeting|ethnic group|ethnic Albanians||in Kosovo

NATO first brought together the countries of Western Europe with Canada and the United States. |initially||united||||Western European|Western Europe|alongside|Canada|||United States|United States Today it includes former enemies of NATO that were members of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. Currently||comprises||opponents|||||part of|||||Pact| Aujourd'hui, il comprend d'anciens ennemis de l'OTAN qui étaient membres du Pacte de Varsovie dirigé par l'Union soviétique. NATO's expansion to the east, toward the borders of Russia, has raised Russian concerns. ||||toward the east|||boundaries||the Russian Federation|has caused||| L'expansion de l'OTAN à l'est, vers les frontières de la Russie, a suscité l'inquiétude des Russes. This week, Albania and Croatia officially joined NATO - bringing the alliance to twenty-eight nations. ||the country||||became members of||||||twenty-eight||countries And French President Nicholas Sarkozy has decided to return France to NATO's military command for the first time in more than forty years. |French President||Sarkozy|Nicholas Sarkozy||made the choice||rejoin|||||||||||over|over|| Le président français Nicolas Sarkozy a décidé de réintégrer la France dans le commandement militaire de l'OTAN pour la première fois depuis plus de quarante ans. Looking to the future, spokesman James Appathurai says there are questions that NATO must answer.

"What do we need to do: Should we do more to fight cyber attacks? "Que devons-nous faire ? Devrions-nous en faire plus pour lutter contre les cyberattaques ? Should we do more to engage in energy security? How far should NATO's reach be for operations? Quelle doit être la portée des opérations de l'OTAN ? Who should our partners be and how should we engage them?" Qui devraient être nos partenaires et comment devrions-nous les impliquer ? On Thursday, leaders of major industrial and developing countries met in London to battle the world recession. The Group of Twenty agreed to finance one trillion dollars in additional loans and credits for struggling countries. Le Groupe des Vingt a accepté de financer des prêts et des crédits supplémentaires d'un montant de mille milliards de dollars pour les pays en difficulté. The money will go to the International Monetary Fund and other lenders.

President Obama said there is no guarantee that all the steps agreed to at the meeting will work, but: Le président Obama a déclaré qu'il n'y avait aucune garantie que toutes les mesures convenues lors de la réunion fonctionneraient, mais il a ajouté que l'on pouvait s'attendre à ce qu'elles soient appliquées :

"I think we applied the right medicine. "Je pense que nous avons appliqué la bonne médecine. I think the patient is stabilized. Je pense que le patient est stabilisé. There are still wounds that have to heal. Il y a encore des blessures à guérir. There are still emergencies that could arise. Il y a toujours des urgences qui peuvent survenir. But I think you have some pretty good care being applied." Mais je pense que les soins prodigués sont plutôt bons". The American president will meet with European Union leaders in the Czech Republic on Sunday. He talked about the summit at a meeting of mainly French and German students in Strasbourg on Friday. He says that in Prague he will lay out a plan to seek the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. Then Barack Obama heads to Turkey for the last stop on his first trip to Europe as president. Barack Obama se rendra ensuite en Turquie pour la dernière étape de son premier voyage en Europe en tant que président.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Doug Johnson. Transcript of radio broadcast: 03 April 2009 Transcription de l'émission de radio : 03 avril 2009