VOA标准英语2009-New US Commander for Afghanistan to Implemen

General Stanley McChrystal has officially taken over as the new commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. The Obama administration is counting on the four-star general to implement¹ a new and ambitious strategy to turn the tide against a relentless² and bloody³ Taliban insurgency⁴ in Afghanistan.
　
General Stanley McChrystal

General McChrystal comes to Afghanistan with a tall order from President Barack Obama.

First on the list: change the way U.S. and NATO forces relate to the Afghan people, who are distrustful of repeated incidents of civilian⁵ casualties during military operations.

The general referred to that goal at a low-key ceremony during which he formally took on his new duties Monday in Kabul. In short, he said winning the war in Afghanistan depends on civilian support.

"The Afghan people are at the center of our mission. In reality, they are the mission. We must protect them from violence, whatever its nature. We must respect their religion and traditions," he said. "Each of us, from rifleman to regional commander, from village to city, must execute our mission with the realization⁶ that displaying respect, cultural sensitivity, accountability and transparency are essential to gaining the support and trust of the Afghan people."

General McChrystal takes over at a time of heightened violence in Afghanistan. His forces are facing are facing an increasingly emboldened⁷, virulent⁸ and agile⁹ enemy capable of carrying out attack after attack unabated. In fact, U.S. and NATO military commanders say insurgent¹⁰ violence rose nearly 60 percent between the first six months of this year, compared to last year - the highest level of violence since 2001 when the Taliban government was ousted¹¹ by U.S. led forces.

There are other goals the Obama administration has set for itself in Afghanistan, as it deploys¹² 21,000 additional troops and trainers to Taliban strongholds in the south and east. Along with protecting local Afghans and reducing violence are new efforts to cut off the funding of the Taliban and other Afghan insurgents¹³.

U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke spoke¹⁴ of a new thinking on the issue during a recent visit to Pakistan. Holbrooke says the long-held notion that Afghanistan's illicit¹⁵ opium¹⁶ trade is the main source of funding for the insurgency is simply not true. And, he says U.S. policy is going to reflect that reality.

"If the drugs ended tomorrow, it would not have a major effect on the Taliban source of funding," said Holbrooke. "And, that's one of the reasons the United States is going to downgrade crop eradication¹⁷ as part of its policies in Afghanistan. We're going to upgrade interdiction¹⁸. We're going to upgrade our efforts to go after the main drug traffickers. But we want to focus on where the money really comes from."

Hobrooke admits is a very complicated and difficult problem to address. He says efforts to make progress in that area, include adding a member of the U.S. Treasury¹⁹ Department to his staff to focus exclusively on the source of Taliban funding.

Paul Burton is the director of policy at the International Council of Security and Development. He says the new Obama war strategy, which also includes a major rehaul of civilian development projects, sounds like a hopeful change from the past. Still, Burton is cautious about how it will all play out, given the enormity of the task.

"It's a tremendously complex patchwork²⁰ of initiatives that are now being sewn together by Western military commanders and Afghan political figures," said Burton. "It's one that is going to unfold with increasing urgency, over the next year or so."

Added to the mix of challenges facing the new U.S. and NATO commander are the dynamics²¹ of Afghanistan's August presidential election. It will be the country's second since the overthrow²² of the Taliban, who are promising²³ even more violence to disrupt the polls.

1 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

2 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

3 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

4 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

5 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。

6 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

7 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 virulent   

adj.有毒的，有恶意的，充满敌意的

参考例句：

• She is very virulent about her former employer.她对她过去的老板恨之入骨。
• I stood up for her despite the virulent criticism.尽管她遭到恶毒的批评，我还是维护她。

9 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

10 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。

11 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

12 deploys   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的第三人称单数 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• It then deploys "decoy" programs designed to attract the virus. 然后，它释放“诱饵”去吸引病毒。
• But when that doesn't work, he deploys his secret defense mechanism. 但没有效果，它要施展绝密自卫武器了。

13 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

14 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。

15 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

16 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。

17 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

18 interdiction   

n.禁止；封锁

参考例句：

• the Customs Service's drug interdiction programs 海关的毒品查禁方案
• In addition to patrol duty, blastboats are dispatched for planetary defense and interdiction missions. 除了例行巡逻，炮艇还被赋予行星防御和封锁的任务。

19 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

20 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

21 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

22 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。

23 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。