VOA标准英语2009-Gates Encouraged by Afghan Visit, But Wants More

U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates came away from a 40-hour visit to Afghanistan Friday encouraged that the U.S. troop increase and cooperation from Afghans will turn the tide of the eight-year conflict. But he says the Afghan government needs to do a better job of convincing the Afghan people that the Taliban is their enemy, not U.S. forces.
　
Secretary Gates (center) and General McKiernan listen to Afghans at Forward Operation Base Airborne in Afghanistan

In a spectacular setting, with snow-capped mountains as a backdrop, Secretary Gates sat under a camouflage² canopy³ and spoke⁴ with local Afghan officials.

That is Ali Abbas, the head of a new group of local citizens armed by the Afghan government and paid by the United States to guard their own district, Jalreyz, in Wardak Province.

Abbas says the Afghan Public Protection Force program, the first of its kind in the country, has already improved security in the area in the few weeks since its 240 members finished a three-week training program led by the Afghan Police and U.S. troops. Abbas says the program should be extended to the entire country.

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, says the program's strength is that it is connected to the local people through their district councils, and also to the national government through the police command structure. And he says it provides a strategic edge in the effort by the coalition⁵ and the Afghan government to fight Taliban influence, particularly in the south.

"The insurgent⁶ leadership is faced with a real dilemma⁷. If they go in and attack these people, these guardians⁸, they're attacking the sons of that village. That's a little different than attacking the police or the army or international forces," he said.

The Afghan Public Protection Force is loosely modeled after a successful community policing program in Iraq. Secretary Gates says the Friday morning meeting with Abbas and other local officials gave him hope that the additional U.S. forces already flowing into Afghanistan will find local support if they are able to turn the tide against the Taliban.

"Actually, the conversations I had this morning were some of the most encouraging I've had about the commitment of Afghans to not only preserve what they have in the way of freedom and democracy, but they want security, they want jobs. They want a different life. They don't like the Taliban. They don't like what the Taliban brings. And we've just got to help them keep these guys at bay, and ultimately defeat them," he said.

The effort to do that is getting a boost from more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops in the coming months, and most of them will go into south, where the Taliban is the strongest and the coalition presence has been the smallest. The U.S. and NATO commander in the region is Brigadier General John Nicholson.

"To me, to see this increase in U.S. forces means we are now resourcing our counterinsurgency appropriately to accomplish what it is that we've laid out in our strategy," he said.

But General Nicholson warns the situation will get worse before it gets better.

"There'll be an increase in violence initially⁹, because the enemy will not easily give up their hold on the population. But this will be a spike¹⁰, not a continuous upward slope. So there will be an increase, then a decrease, in violence, after which we'll have improved security. And then into those secured areas we'll be able to introduce development and work with the Afghans on improved governance," he said.

One of the keys to the success of the new U.S. strategy, approved by President Barack Obama a month ago, is gaining the trust and support of the Afghan people. That effort suffered a setback¹¹ this week, as local residents in western Afghanistan blamed a U.S. air strike for what they said were more than 100 civilian¹² deaths. The United States disputes the claim, and says Taliban forces often exaggerate civilian casualties, or even kill civilians¹³ themselves and blame it on U.S. forces. But Secretary Gates says it is not enough for U.S. officials to make such statements.

"What I think is most important is not necessarily what we say but what the Afghan government says, because they are likely to have more credibility with their own people," he said.

Especially with the presidential election coming up, whenever there have been civilian casualties Afghan officials have been quick to criticize U.S. forces for not doing enough to protect civilians.

Officials say it is important to build support among the people in order to reduce the Taliban's access to support and shelter. They say that, and further improvements by the Afghan government and security forces, are the keys to long-term stability.

And General McKiernan, the top commander, says achieving all that will require a long-term security commitment by the United States, and by its allies.

"This is not a temporary increase for the next six months to a year. I think this is going to have to be sustained over the next, you said two or three years. I think that's a reasonable assumption that it would be at least the next two or three years," he said.

And officials say the commitment for civilian help will be even longer.

Secretary Gates says even though this has already been a long and difficult fight, the United States and its allies must continue the effort.

"If there is a lesson for Americans and the international community, it's that we don't dare turn our backs on Afghanistan. This will work if we stay engaged and have patience," he said.

It has long been a challenge to convince people in many NATO countries of that. Even now, with the Afghan presidential election set for August, the alliance is several thousand troops short of the force it promised to help secure the voting.

But there was no talk of that during Friday's outdoor meeting, at least not while reporters were allowed to listen.

In the crisp morning air, Ali Abbas told Secretary Gates the new Afghan Public Protection Force has great potential because, he said, it is connected to the people "like a chain" and its members know what is really happening in their hometowns. That gave the secretary reason to smile, as he contemplated¹⁴ the long, difficult road ahead.

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 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

3 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

4 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。

5 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。

6 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

7 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

8 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

9 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

11 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

12 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。

13 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

14 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。