VOA标准英语2009年-Afghan War Effort Key Obama Foreign Po

Many analysts¹ are now calling the fighting in Afghanistan, 'President Obama's War'. In this report from Washington, Senior Correspondent André de Nesnera spoke² with three former senior US government officials about the Afghan conflict.

André de Nesnera | Washington 16 December 2009

At Fort Carson, Colorado U.S. Army soldiers await departure for their deployment³ to Afghanistan (File)

"Persuading the Pakistani government, which it continues to be somewhat shaky, to clean up the situation in the border and the tribal⁴ areas and in Baluchistan - it's not going to be easy, but it is essential."

In a major speech outlining his Afghan strategy in early December, President Barack Obama said he would send an additional 30,000 troops to that country.  He also said he will begin the withdrawal⁵ of U.S. troops in July 2011, beginning the handover of security responsibility to Afghan forces.

Former Secretary of State [1992] Lawrence Eagleburger agrees with the deployment of U.S. forces.

"The 30,000 troops is a good idea.  But to announce when you are going to start pulling them out is not a very good idea," said Eagleburger.  "It tells the opposition⁶ we are not really intent on winning.  And if we cannot win this thing by a date certain, we are going to leave, even though at the same time we say we could change that if we had to - I think the basic point is it's a sign of weakness and therefore it is not a smart idea," he said.

Former CIA Director [1973] and Secretary of Defense⁷ [1973-75] James Schlesinger also questions the July 2011 date to begin the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

"I hope that that is simply a gesture to the anti-war element in the Democratic Party.  It may make them happy, but it probably makes the Taliban happy at the same time and causes great consternation⁸ in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, amongst our allies," he said.

A US Marine⁹ fires on Taliban positions from a rooftop in the village of Dahaneh n the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. (File)

One of the key elements of President Obama's Afghan strategy is for President Hamid Karzai to fight corruption¹¹ within his government.

Former National Security Adviser¹² [1974-77; 1989-93; retired¹³ Air Force] General Brent Scowcroft says it is very difficult to force President Karzai to fight corruption.

"We cannot force.  But it seems to me that he has some pretty clear choices to make," said Scowcroft.  "If he is to survive and sustain himself, he needs our strategy to succeed.  It can only succeed if he performs better than before. So it seems to me he has incentives¹⁴ perhaps he didn't realize before," he said.

Lawrence Eagleburger is even more blunt.

"The point is that there is no way in the end that we can force him to be less than what he is and what he is is a corrupt¹⁰ politician," he said.

 

All three former senior officials say Pakistan's role in the Afghan equation is essential.

Former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger:

"It is simply crucial.  As long as the insurgents¹⁵ can move back and forth¹⁶ across the border, it is very hard to snuff out the Taliban in Afghanistan," he said.  "Persuading the Pakistani government, which it continues to be somewhat shaky, to clean up the situation in the border and the tribal areas and in Baluchistan - it's not going to be easy, but it is essential," he added.

All three former officials believe it will be difficult to get the Europeans to contribute more troops to the Afghan effort, despite the fact that they pledged 7,000 more soldiers.

Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger:

"Their support for us is tenuous¹⁷ at best.  I do not think there is any way to get them to do more," he said.  "The British will do everything they can.  It is going to be a very tough game to try to get the Europeans to contribute anything. It's an almost hopeless task right now.  We will get a little bit of support from the Europeans and from the European Union, but it would not be much and it certainly would not be sufficient to be a telling blow against the terrorists,"  said Eagleburger.

Many experts, including General Scowcroft, believe that the Europeans can contribute more to non-combat operations - that is, working with local authorities to improve the every day life of Afghans.  Many analysts say that part may be as important, if not more, than the combat operations against the Taliban.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

4 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

9 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

10 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

11 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

12 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

13 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

14 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

15 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

16 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

17 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。