VOA标准英语2009年-Obama To Unveil Afghan Strategy

U.S. President Barack Obama will unveil his new Afghan strategy on Friday - one week before a NATO summit convenes¹ on the French-German border. The plan is the result of a detailed² policy review by the new Obama administration.
　
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, 13 Feb 2009

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the review is complete, and the new strategy is ready.

He says allies and lawmakers are getting a preview before the details are made public.

"The president is making calls and briefing members of Congress based on the conclusion of that review," said Gibbs.

At a briefing for White House reporters, Gibbs refused to go into specifics of the plan President Obama will unveil Friday morning at the White House. But he made clear it is regional in nature - designed to deal with the threat posed by militants³ and extremists on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border.

"I think you will hear the president talk about how progress in one is also determined⁴ by stability and progress in the other," he said.

The president has said on numerous occasions that the key to combating al-Qaida and Taliban advances is a regional approach that includes three elements: military action, diplomacy⁵, and support for development.

His new strategy is expected to include an increase in both troops and civilian⁶ U.S. personnel who would help in areas ranging from agriculture to bolstering⁷ the Afghan legal system.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - speaking at a news conference in Monterrey, Mexico - said the civilian component⁸ is essential.

"We are convinced that that is the most critical underpinning⁹ of any success we hope to achieve along with the people and government of Afghanistan," said Hillary Clinton.

On the military side, the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Democrat¹⁰ Carl Levin, says the plan calls for an extra 4,000 US trainers to work with the Afghan armed forces.

That would be on top of the additional 17,000 American combat and support troops the president wants to send to Afghanistan over the coming months. And it brings the total U.S. deployment¹¹, including trainers, up to about 59,000.

There are also indications the new strategy will include additional aid for Pakistan, conditioned on improvements in the way the government is tackling the problem of militants along the Afghan border.

That would be in keeping with legislation proposed last year by Vice-President Joe Biden when he served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He proposed tripling humanitarian¹² aid to Pakistan, but warned military assistance would be cut if Islamabad did not do enough to fight terrorists.

1 convenes   

召开( convene的第三人称单数 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The Premier convenes and presides over the executive meetings and plenary meetings of the State Council. 总理召集和主持国务院常务会议和国务院全体会议。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法
• Chinese woman tenth the National People Congress convenes grandly today in Beijing. 中国妇女第十次全国代表大会今天在北京隆重召开。

2 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

3 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。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 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。

6 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。

7 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 underpinning   

n.基础材料；基础结构；（学说、理论等的）基础；（人的）腿v.用砖石结构等从下面支撑（墙等）( underpin的现在分词 )；加固（墙等）的基础；为（论据、主张等）打下基础；加强

参考例句：

• Underpinning this success has been an exemplary record of innovation. 具有典范性的创新确保了这次成功。 来自辞典例句
• But underpinning Mr Armstrong's technology changes is a human touch. 但阿姆斯特朗技术变革的支柱是人情味。 来自互联网

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

11 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。

12 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。