2006年VOA标准英语-General: NATO On Track to Expand Role in Afghan

By Al Pessin
Kandahar, Afghanistan
15 June 2006

The commander of NATO forces worldwide says his troops from several countries are on track to take responsibility for security in southern Afghanistan in July, and that NATO could expand to the one remaining section of the country immediately afterwards. The commander spoke¹ to reporters at the airport in the main southern Afghan city of Kandahar Wednesday and VOA's Al Pessin was there.

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This facility looks more like a construction site than an airport, with new housing and runway space being added every day. It is all part of NATO's expansion into this part of Afghanistan, where insurgents² have increased their attacks in an apparent effort to make gains before the NATO force is fully³ in place.

 

General James Jones (file)   
  

But the NATO commander, American General James Jones, says his British, Canadian and Dutch troops are nearly ready to take control of the region from the U.S. led coalition⁴ that ousted⁵ the Taleban four and a half years ago. "We're moving towards our stated goal of transferring the authority to Stage Three sometime in July," he said.

And while political leaders, including U.S. Defense⁶ Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, have been cautious about predicting when NATO might take over in eastern Afghanistan, where the insurgency⁷ is also strong, General Jones is not reluctant to state his preference. "Everything has been agreed to. The command structure has been agreed to. The rules of engagement have been agreed to. We know exactly how the operation is going to work. And so, my personal military advice would be Stage Four should come as quickly as possible," he said.

 
NATO Soldiers guard convoy⁸ in Kabul
  
Even after NATO takes responsibility for security in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. troops that are already there will continue to do most of the work, under NATO's British commander in Kabul. So General Jones says NATO's expansion to the east could even happen the day after it takes control in the south.

The general says a continuing U.S. role is important, not only in the east, but also leading the counter-terrorism effort nationwide. "The importance of the United States' commitment, visible commitment, remains⁹ absolutely essential. And I'm quite sure that that will continue to be there," he said.

Boy rides past NATO vehicle during patrol in Kabul  
  
In all, NATO will have a bit more than 30,000 troops in Afghanistan when the transition is complete, nearly 50 per cent more than the U.S.-led coalition has had. And in addition, there will continue to be some U.S. troops in the country outside the NATO command. Just how many has yet to be decided¹⁰.

And General Jones says to his amazement¹¹ all the countries involved have agreed to operate under the same 'rules of engagement,' without the individual national restrictions¹² called 'caveats¹³' that have hampered¹⁴ NATO operations in the past. "That is really not going to be the problem. What the challenge is, is sustainment and making sure that nations understand this is not just a military solution and that we have to continue to apply the pressures that are necessary, and the resources that are necessary across the broad spectrum¹⁵ of the Afghan society to make sure that this country gets on its way to not needing us," he said.

NATO officials say the effort will take years, and General Jones says it is hard to predict whether public opinion in NATO countries will allow for that type of long-term commitment. But he says some quick results will help.

1 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。

2 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

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

8 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 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。

11 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

12 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

13 caveats   

警告

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling. 为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。 来自辞典例句
• As I have written before, that's quite a caveat. 正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。 来自互联网

14 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

15 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。