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Words
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INTRO
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As
President George W. Bush prepared to meet NATO heads of State and
Government, there was unease among NATO members about his missile
defence plans. BBC Defence Correspondent Jonathan Marcus sent this
report before the meeting at NATO's headquarters in Brussels.
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IN
FULL
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Listen
to the report in full |
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13th
June 2001
President Bush visits NATO
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NEWS
1
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Listen
to the first part of the report |
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In
an age of smart missiles and precision-guided weaponry President
Bush is going to have to rely upon good old-fashioned charm
if he is to win over America's sceptical NATO allies. There's
a growing mood of transatlantic tension, both real
and imagined; a feeling that European capitals and Washington no
longer view the world in quite the same way. The Bush team has spoken
with a number of different accents in the security field:
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld emphasising, as one US newspaper
editorial put it, that the allies should simply fall into line
behind the US, while Secretary of State Colin Powell has stressed
Washington's desire for consultation and discussion.
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Listen
to the words |
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WORDS
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good
old-fashioned charm: simple, traditional politeness
to win over: if you win someone over to your point of view
you persuade them that you are right through friendly argument.
a growing mood: afeeling which is steadily getting stronger
transatlantic tension: tension which exist between
countries on either side of the Atlantic Ocean - in this case between
America and Europe.
accents: accents here is a diplomatic way of saying different
statements or views.
fall into line: a military idiom used here to mean ‘conform’
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| NEWS
2 |
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Listen
to the second part of the report |
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Missile
defence has become the issue that crystallises these US-European
tensions, but there are many other problems ahead, ranging from the
European Union's growing interest in defence, to NATO expansion
and the crisis in the Balkans. President Bush is likely to stress
that the growing US strategic role in Asia will not compromise
America's fundamental interests in NATO. He may well stress his desire
to see European allies do more in the defence field. Such an improvement
in capabilities is the sweetener that makes the EU's defence
efforts tolerable in American eyes. |
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Listen
to the words |
| WORDS |
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crystallises:
when an opinion, idea or issue crystallises it becomes fixed in
people’s minds
growing interest: increasing involvement with
is likely to stress: the phrase illustrates that the report
is speculative because it was written before the actual meeting
- ‘to stress’ here means to emphasise
the sweetener: something that you give to someone to persuade
them to do something they do not want to do
tolerable: if something is tolerable it is acceptable or bearable
but not pleasant or good
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Read
about the background in BBC News Online |
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