Europeans who wonder about the benefits of ties with the US should recall the tenure of president George HW Bush. He entered the White House at a transformative moment for transatlantic and global relations. In four years, he left a greater legacy than most presidents achieve over two terms.
怀疑与美国的关系究竟有没有好处的欧洲人，应该回忆一下老布什(George HW Bush)担任总统时的情形。他是在跨大西洋关系和全球关系发生巨变时进入白宫(White House)的。尽管只当了四年总统，他留下的遗产比大多数干了两届的总统还要多。
In early 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev, president of the Soviet Union, excited Europeans with the prospect of ending the cold war. Bush told secretary of state James Baker that he wanted to meet Mr Gorbachev. Bush recognised that he led an alliance as well as the US, and needed to guide a cohesive Nato in the negotiations with the Soviets.
1989年初，苏联最高领导人米哈伊尔•戈尔巴乔夫(Mikhail Gorbachev)带来的结束冷战的前景，让欧洲人兴奋不已。老布什告诉国务卿詹姆士•贝克(James Baker)，他想见戈尔巴乔夫。老布什意识到，他不仅领导着美国，还领导着一个联盟，需要在对苏谈判中指引一个团结一致的北约(Nato)。
His first step, overlooked by most historians, was a bold proposal in May of that year to slash and equalise the conventional armies in Europe. This initiative pushed the negotiation of short-range missiles to the sidelines, easing tensions with Germans who feared their territory was the only nuclear battleground left after the elimination of intermediate range missiles.
他的第一步措施——被大多数历史学家忽视了——是他在那年5月的一项大胆提议：削减和均衡欧洲的常规军队。这一举措让短程导弹谈判变得无足轻重，缓解了与德国人的紧张关系——德国人担心，消除中程导弹后，德国就是剩下的唯一核战场了。