美国国家公共电台 NPR--An Afghan opposition leader builds on his father's efforts to oust the Taliban

An Afghan opposition¹ leader builds on his father's efforts to oust² the Taliban

Transcript³

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Afghan opposition leader Ahmad Massoud about the National Resistance Front, which is fighting against Taliban rule.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We are slowly learning what happens under new leaders in Afghanistan. As of this week, the Taliban have ruled the country for one year. And MORNING EDITION recently interviewed their defense⁴ minister, Mohammad Yaqoob. He is the son of Mullah Omar, the Taliban ruler who led Afghanistan a generation ago.

How, if at all, is your vision for Afghanistan different than your father's vision in the 1990s?

MOHAMMAD YAQOOB: (Through interpreter) I haven't felt any changes in our thought with my father. I am following his spirit. But there is differences of situation. There is differences of condition.

INSKEEP: This morning, we meet one of Yaqoob's opponents, the son of another leader. Ahmad Massoud is the namesake of Ahmad Shah Massoud, who opposed the Taliban back in the 1990s.

AHMAD MASSOUD: Well, of course, he's a role model. He's a role model not just for me, but for many, many people and for a generation.

INSKEEP: Now the son is taking opposition to the Taliban into a second generation. His father was an Afghan military commander.

KARL INDERFURTH: He is a very charismatic figure. He's an attractive man.

INSKEEP: This is an old interview with U.S. diplomat⁵ Karl Inderfurth, who met the older Massoud.

INDERFURTH: I noticed that he was far more interested and animated⁶ when we moved from discussing the details of a political settlement and turned to the situation on the ground militarily and his plans for his next offensive or counteroffensive against the Taliban. He was a real fighter.

INSKEEP: He was part of the government the Taliban evicted⁷ from Kabul in the 1990s. But he fought on for years in the mountains. In September, 2001, news broadcasts told of Massoud.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Today, though, his fate is uncertain. He was hurt in an explosion yesterday.

INSKEEP: Suicide bombers⁸ killed him just two days before the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Yet, his army became the main force that helped the United States oust the Taliban. They drove with pictures of Massoud on their vehicles. His son, Ahmad Massoud, was just 12 years old then and is 33 now. He says he's building an opposition called the National Resistance Front in his father's old stronghold, the Panjshir Valley northeast of Kabul. He asked us not to disclose his location, saying he faces threats to his life.

MASSOUD: Of course, unfortunately, the situation is now much harder for us than it was for him because of various reasons. But we are hoping that we all get the same result, a free and safe Afghanistan for all.

INSKEEP: What makes this situation now more difficult, in your view, than your father faced?

MASSOUD: My father was an active defense minister of the legitimate⁹ government of Afghanistan at that time. He managed to get the experience, resources and, of course, the legitimacy¹⁰ that he was a part of a legitimate government. And unfortunately, we do not possess any of those things.

INSKEEP: Most important, the elder Massoud received international aid, eventually including American B-52 bombers overhead. The younger Massoud says he has no international assistance at all.

I am reminded that your father had an army with old Russian tanks, with large numbers of men with Kalashnikov rifles. How would you describe your forces today?

MASSOUD: We are not fighting a conventional warfare¹¹ anymore. We are fighting a guerrilla warfare against the Taliban. And that requires for our forces to be mobile and to be agile¹², and also to be very active with tactical, small activities but with strategic impact.

INSKEEP: The Washington Post a couple of months ago got an opportunity to travel in the Panjshir Valley and found some signs of conflict, I think, but no evidence that your group controlled territory. It sounds like that's about right, isn't it? You're not trying to control territory at this point. You're trying to strike blows where you can.

MASSOUD: If I want and if the resistance wants to take back the control of Panjshir Valley, I can do it right now. But I will not be able to hold it for the next morning. So this is the thing that we are trying to prevent, just the way that the Taliban, they prevented - or they didn't capture any of the cities until when it was the time for them to do so, because they knew they can capture it, but they cannot hold it.

INSKEEP: Security analysts¹³ regard the National Resistance Front as weak. Although, they say they staged an attack on the anniversary of Taliban rule this week. A Taliban official said he'd heard nothing. Massoud contends his group wants a more inclusive government. And he says that he has held talks with Taliban representatives.

MASSOUD: The Taliban messaging to me is very clear. No, we do not want any of these things. We are the winner. We captured Kabul. We are now establishing our own government. You're welcome to be one of the minister, that's all. You have no other say in it. You have no other position in it. And you have no right to say anything.

INSKEEP: They said you were welcome to be one of the ministers in the government?

MASSOUD: Of course. Of course, they actually proposed for me to be a minister. And my answer to them was that this is not possible. And this is not right because this will not solve the problem of Afghanistan. We need to establish a legitimate process. We need to allow the people to decide. Who are you to put Ahmad Massoud in power? We need to allow the people to decide for their future. Let people decide and accept and be behind a legitimate process which brings a government that even 100% they are the personnel of Taliban. I will have no issue with that. Let's let the people to be the decision-maker. We must give power to the people of Afghanistan.

INSKEEP: When was your last discussion with a Taliban leader?

MASSOUD: The last time we spoke¹⁴ with them, it was months ago. It was during winter. And after that, there is no talk between us.

INSKEEP: You pointed¹⁵ out that Western countries, outside countries, have not been supporting your group. That being the case, how are you getting weapons and paying fighters?

MASSOUD: The generosity¹⁶ of the people of Afghanistan, first and foremost. It is the main source of - and support for our soldiers. In the ground, the people, they are supporting them. The people are helping¹⁷ them. And the people and the soldiers that we are having, we are not giving them any salary. They are just freedom fighters fighting for their own freedom, therefore for their own land, for their families. Nothing is coming from outside in Afghanistan. Everything can be built from inside and can be bought from inside Afghanistan. Afghanistan right now is an armory¹⁸ for the region.

INSKEEP: I had an opportunity while in Afghanistan recently to meet Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of Mullah Omar. And I pointed out that guerrilla fighters, just a very few of them, can cause great trouble for an army. And could the Taliban face trouble from a few guerrilla fighters? And he responded, no - saying, we did that for 20 years, so we know all the tactics. And we know how to respond. Do you think he's right?

MASSOUD: Well, if they were right, we would not be surviving after one year. And we survived this one year of basically silence of the world regarding the situation in Afghanistan as we speak. They know how to harm the civilian¹⁹. They know how to harm the people. But one thing they don't know, that wherever there is hope, there is resistance.

INSKEEP: Our last big question for Ahmad Massoud was about the people of Afghanistan. They've endured more than 40 years of one war after another. Are they ready for even more civil conflict? Massoud is placing a bet that they are, and the Taliban, this rule, will give strength to his movement.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUKHTOR MUBORAKQADOMOV AND SALAR NADER'S "RUBOYAT-I VANJ (RUBAYAT OF VANJ)")

1 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。

2 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

3 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。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

6 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

7 evicted   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• They had evicted their tenants for non-payment of rent. 他们赶走了未交房租的房客。

8 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

11 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

12 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

16 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 armory   

n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Nuclear weapons will play a less prominent part in NATO's armory in the future.核武器将来在北约的军械中会起较次要的作用。
• Every March the Armory Show sets up shop in New York.每年三月，军械博览会都会在纽约设置展场。

19 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。