2006年VOA标准英语-Large Scale Anti-Taleban Offensive Under Way in

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
14 June 2006

The U.S.-led military coalition¹ in Afghanistan has launched a massive combat and reconstruction² operation in the country's southern provinces. Officials say thousands of troops are sweeping³ through the Taleban's traditional stronghold, hoping to isolate⁴ the insurgents⁵ and help restore order to local communities.

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It is the coalition's largest operation in more than four years: an estimated 11,000 soldiers in four southern provinces, including Helmand, Uruzgan, Zabul and Kandahar.

U.S. military spokesman Colonel Tom Collins briefed reporters Wednesday in the Afghan capital, Kabul. "Over the next month, coalition and Afghan national security forces will be conducting Operation Mountain Thrust," he said. "This operation will attack Taleban extremists in the areas from which they are currently operating."

More than 2,000 U.S. soldiers are taking part in the operation alongside British, Canadian, and Afghan forces.

The operation started last month, but U.S. officials say the pace and scale of coalition attacks is expected to rise sharply in the next few days as the troops spread out and target Taleban hideouts.

The military push comes as Taleban insurgents continue their own, so-called, summer offensive, launching dozens of deadly attacks throughout the country.

It has been the insurgents' strongest show of force since the radical⁶ Islamic Taleban regime was ousted⁷ by U.S.-led forces in 2001 for its ties to the al-Qaida terror network.

The major fighting has been in the South, the Taleban's traditional stronghold. Afghan officials say more than 500 people, mostly militants⁸, have been killed there in the past month.

The violence is fueling widespread concerns that the U.S.-backed central government could lose control of the entire area.

Colonel Collins says the latest coalition operation is meant, at least in part, to help restore the public's confidence in the Afghan government. "Operation Mountain Thrust is not about just killing⁹ and capturing extremists," he said. "It is very much about establishing the conditions where the government can extend its authority into areas where it does not currently have a presence."

He says humanitarian¹⁰ assistance and reconstruction projects will be a major component¹¹ of the operation.

The U.S. military has distributed millions of dollars throughout the country to help build new roads, schools and medical clinics and generate greater support for counterinsurgency operations

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

3 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

4 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

5 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

6 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

7 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

8 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 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。

11 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。