VOA常速英语2007-Britain's Brown Vows Long-Term Commitment to Afg

By Tom Rivers
London
25 October 2007

For the first time as prime minister, Gordon Brown has met Afghan President Hamid Karzai at 10 Downing Street. Brown said Britain's commitment to Afghanistan was long term and he urged other countries to do more in sharing the burden. For VOA, Tom Rivers in London reports.

Six years after the fall of the Taliban, the call is not new and NATO defense¹ ministers are again discussing ways of gaining greater troop commitments from its member states for peacekeeping duties in Afghanistan.

While those talks go on in The Netherlands, in London, Afghan President Hamid Karzai held a breakfast meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Britain has just over 7,000 troops in the country. Most are based in the restive² Helmand province.

After his discussions, Brown told reporters the British commitment would be long term and he is urging others in the alliance to do more.

"We know from the NATO commander that there are other countries prepared to do more," said Brown. "We know also that there are means by which burden sharing can happen but the military effort must be complemented³ by the diplomatic effort and by the development work that is being done."

"And one of the things I look forward to in the next few months is the greater coordination⁴ of the development effort in the interests of the schools, the hospitals, the economic development, the agricultural productivity that can be achieved by better coordination of the programs," he added.

Brown says he sees strategy in Afghanistan in terms of three key components⁵: development, defense and diplomacy⁶.

Speaking on Sky News, Britain's chief of defense staff, Jock Stirrup agrees saying assistance must be viewed beyond purely⁷ defense terms.

"In terms of bringing Afghanistan into its rightful place in the 21st century, that is an enormous project that will engage the international community frankly⁸ for decades," he said. "But it is an engagement of economic assistance, it is an engagement of social development, it is an engagement of education and all of these things."

While some developmental progress has been made in the past few years, one glaring area where Afghanistan has failed is in stopping opium⁹ production.

According to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, production has now soared to record levels. In the past two years, it is estimated that the crop has more than doubled.

Afghanistan now accounts for more than 90 percent of the world's heroin¹⁰.

1 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。

2 restive   

adj.不安宁的，不安静的

参考例句：

• The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
• The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。

3 complemented   

有补助物的，有余格的

参考例句：

• The excellent menu is complemented by a good wine list. 佳肴佐以美酒，可称完美无缺。
• In vitro analysis must be complemented by studies of the virus replication cycle in plants. 体外的分析必须辅之以植物体内病毒复制周期的研究。

4 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

5 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

6 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

7 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

8 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

9 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

10 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。