U.S. aims to restore modes of transportation out of Afghanistan, Tom West says

U.S. aims to restore modes of transportation out of Afghanistan, Tom West says

Transcript¹

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West, one of the last U.S. diplomats² to before the Taliban takeover, about how Afghans who helped the U.S. are trying to leave.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The Taliban is cracking down on anyone who is trying to leave the country. Any flight out of Afghanistan has to be pre-approved by the Taliban government, which makes it very difficult for Afghans who've been trying to escape since the fall of the government there six months ago. That includes Afghans who worked alongside U.S. troops over two decades of war. According to the State Department, there are roughly 60,000 Afghans who face retribution from the Taliban for their past work with the U.S. One of them is a man we've been calling Khan for his own safety. For four years, Khan translated for U.S. combat forces. His visa application was approved but never finalized³ before the U.S. left Afghanistan, and all his emails to the State Department have gone unanswered.

KHAN: I feel I did something wrong, and that's why maybe I'm left behind. Why did I help the U.S. Army? Why was I risking my whole life being in a job as interpreter? I feel I shouldn't have done this.

MARTIN: How do you respond to that?

TOM WEST: It's heartbreaking, Rachel.

MARTIN: This is Tom West. He's the Special Representative for Afghanistan, and he was one of the last American diplomats to leave the country before the Taliban took over.

WEST: We're hearing this kind of message from a lot of Afghans who do feel in fear for their lives and want to leave. I personally served alongside many Afghans in Kunar, some of whom have made it out and others who've decided⁴ to stay behind or haven't yet found a way out. I'll tell you that on a practical level, we are working day in and day out to try to identify practical solutions that will get modes of transportation out of Afghanistan resurrected.

MARTIN: Is this part of your negotiations⁵ right now with the Taliban?

WEST: Without going into too much detail, it has certainly been a subject of conversation. It's not an easy one to satisfy across the board, I have to tell you. We saw a very concerning statement from the Taliban spokesperson noting that Afghans will not be permitted to depart any longer. We haven't gotten an official communication in this regard, but it's a very worrying statement.

MARTIN: How would you characterize the situation there right now?

WEST: Well, I think for a lot of Afghans, it's a horrific situation. It's just an undeniable humanitarian⁶ catastrophe⁷. You know, over half the population is experiencing emergency levels of food insecurity. They don't know where they're getting their next meal. It is also, in some ways, a more secure situation than it was. And this is a hard reality, I think, for a lot of Americans to grapple with. But there's been an almost - over 90% diminution⁸ in security incidents, meaning fights, clashes, deaths of civilians⁹, year on year, from now to last year. That is because the war is over.

MARTIN: Does the United States recognize the Taliban as the legitimate¹⁰ government of Afghanistan?

WEST: No, we do not.

MARTIN: How has that affected¹¹ the Biden administration's effort to get humanitarian aid into the country?

WEST: So I would say that it's been a collective international effort to press the Taliban to allow humanitarian aid workers access across the country. And this is one area of our dialogue that has proved fruitful. And, look, it's in the Taliban's interest to allow aid workers to do their work. But the fact is that humanitarian aid workers are accessing parts of the country that have been inaccessible¹² for over a decade. So on humanitarian aid and humanitarian access, it's a pretty solid story.

MARTIN: Although weren't there aid workers that were just kidnapped there, including British citizen Peter Jouvenal?

WEST: That is right. And I was deeply, deeply, deeply concerned to learn about that. And I was just about to say, that doesn't mean that there haven't been really, really worrying pieces that argue against that story. And so it's not a complete - completely positive picture across the board.

MARTIN: The U.S. has given Afghanistan $780 million in humanitarian assistance since August. Where has that money gone?

WEST: Largely through U.N. and humanitarian relief organizations. So a big part of our effort has been about supporting the efforts of humanitarian aid implementers to scale up, to hire locally, to procure¹³, to have the cash on hand that they need to do their work.

MARTIN: So how is that money being traced? Because I don't have to tell you, over 20 years of war, there were billions of dollars that were diverted and not - the aid money was not spent as it was intended when there was a huge footprint of international organizations on the ground when the U.S. was there. And now there's a scant¹⁴ U.N. footprint, and the U.S. has gone.

WEST: It's a fair concern. I would say that, you know, one of the things that we did as a government is we backed private sector¹⁵ actors in Europe as they have shipped several hundred million dollars - and physical, hard dollars - into Afghanistan. And so far, the Taliban has not sought to intervene in or seize any of those shipments. So on that front, I think they understand that if there were any intervention¹⁶, then those shipments would stop and that they are a lifeline for the humanitarian effort.

MARTIN: What is the Biden administration's operating doctrine¹⁷ for Afghanistan right now? What is the goal?

WEST: I think the humanitarian and economic crises, I think, are our biggest drivers. So overall, we want to see the emergence¹⁸ of a stable and peaceful state via peaceful means. At the moment, we are not supporting armed opposition¹⁹ in Afghanistan. We would discourage other countries from doing so, as well. But I worry that the Taliban do not have a sense of urgency around this question of forming a fundamentally more representative government and respecting the rights of all Afghans.

MARTIN: Ambassador Tom West, Special Representative for Afghanistan, we appreciate your time. Thanks so much for talking with us.

WEST: Thank you, Rachel.

(SOUNDBITE OF SHPONGLE'S "NOTHING IS SOMETHING WORTH DOING")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

8 diminution   

n.减少；变小

参考例句：

• They hope for a small diminution in taxes.他们希望捐税能稍有减少。
• He experienced no diminution of his physical strength.他并未感觉体力衰落。

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

13 procure   

vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条

参考例句：

• Can you procure some specimens for me?你能替我弄到一些标本吗？
• I'll try my best to procure you that original French novel.我将尽全力给你搞到那本原版法国小说。

14 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

15 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

16 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

17 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

18 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

19 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。