VOA标准英语2009年-Obama: 30,000 More US Troops To Afghan

 

U.S. President Barack Obama is sending 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan by the summer of 2010, and plans to start withdrawing American forces a year later. The president laid out his strategy for winning the war in Afghanistan.

Washington | Kent Klein 01 December 2009

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President Barack Obama speaks about his Afghanistan policy before cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, 01 Dec 2009

"We must deny al-Qaida a safe haven," said Mr. Obama. "We must reverse the Taliban's momentum¹ and deny it the ability to overthrow² the government. And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan's security forces and government, so that they can take lead responsibility for Afghanistan's future."

U.S. President Barack Obama is sending 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan by the summer of 2010, and plans to start withdrawing American forces a year later.  The president laid out his strategy for winning the war in Afghanistan.

After several months of deliberation, President Obama has announced his plan for deploying⁴ additional troops to Afghanistan.  He unveiled his strategy before an audience of cadets at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, late Tuesday and a nation watching on television.

"The 30,000 additional troops that I am announcing tonight will deploy³ in the first part of 2010 - the fastest pace possible - so that they can target the insurgency⁵ and secure key population centers," said President Obama.

The added troops will join an estimated 68,000 U.S. service members already in Afghanistan, and tens of thousands of allied⁶ forces.

The president spoke⁷ as Americans' support for the war continues to erode⁸.  A new survey by the Gallup organization shows only 35 percent of Americans surveyed approve of Mr. Obama's handling of the war - 55 percent disapprove⁹.

At West Point, Mr. Obama said Afghanistan is not lost, but has been moving backwards¹⁰ for several years.  He said al-Qaida is planning new acts of terror from its safe havens¹¹ along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, with the support of the Taliban.

"We must deny al-Qaida a safe haven," said Mr. Obama. " We must reverse the Taliban's momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government.  And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan's security forces and government, so that they can take lead responsibility for Afghanistan's future."

The president appealed to America's allies to contribute more troops to the fight in Afghanistan, and said he is confident that they will.

"Our friends have fought and bled and died alongside us in Afghanistan," said President Obama. "Now, we must come together to end this war successfully. For what's at stake is not simply a test of NATO's credibility - what's at stake is the security of our Allies, and the common security of the world."

Mr. Obama said his strategy will allow U.S. troops to begin returning home by the middle of 2011, depending on the conditions on the ground. 

"Taken together, these additional American and international troops will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces, and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011," said Mr. Obama.

The top Senate Republican, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said after the speech he supports the president's plan, as long as the withdrawal¹² does not begin until conditions in Afghanistan permit it.

"The president was absolutely right to call for building a sufficient Afghan capacity that will allow our troops to come home, rather than setting a hard withdrawal date that is not based on conditions on the ground or the advice of our generals," said Mitch McConnell.

A large part of the troops' mission will be to train Afghan forces to take over the fight against the Taliban and defend their country's security.

With most of the Taliban now in Pakistan, the president emphasized the need for a continued partnership¹³ with the government in Islamabad.

Civilian¹⁴ initiatives will be a large part of the U.S. strategy, especially in developing the region's agriculture, education and economy.  Mr. Obama also said the U.S. will require improved performance from the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"We will work with our partners, the UN and the Afghan people to pursue a more effective civilian strategy, so that the government can take advantage of improved security," said President Obama. "This effort must be based on performance.  The days of providing a blank check are over."

The president acknowledged that his new approach in Afghanistan is likely to cost the U.S. $30 billion in the coming year, and he said he will work closely with Congress to address that cost, while trying to revive the recession-battered economy.

Over the past few months, Mr. Obama has held about a dozen meetings with his top military and foreign policy advisers¹⁵, including commanders on the ground in Afghanistan. 

 

1 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

2 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

3 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

4 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

5 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

6 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

7 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。

8 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

9 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

10 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

11 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

12 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

13 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

14 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。

15 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。