VOA标准英语2009年-Afghan Election Poses Policy Dilemmas for

Afghanistan's August 20th presidential election features a crowded field of candidates, but only two are considered challengers to incumbent¹ President Hamid Karzai. The election presents the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama with some knotty² problems as it attempts to calibrate³ its new strategy in Afghanistan.
　
Afghan President Hamid Karzai (file)

When Hamid Karzai was installed as president by the international community in 2001, he was widely seen, particularly by the United States, as the bright hope of Afghanistan's future after the fall of the Taliban.

Now, as Mr. Karzai runs for re-election, the picture has changed markedly. The Taliban, once thought of as a defeated entity⁴, has re-emerged as a full-blown insurgency⁵. And Mr. Karzai is now widely seen as presiding over a corrupt⁶ government, says analyst⁷ Nora Bensahel of the RAND Corporation.

"The Karzai government is perceived by many people in Afghanistan as corrupt," Bensahel said. "Whether or not they blame Karzai for that personally, I think that there is a general sense among significant parts of the population that it may be time for a change. And people are certainly listening to the candidates that are running for office."

Afghan analyst Candace Rondeaux of the International Crisis Group says that puts the United States in an awkward position because the U.S. and Mr. Karzai are inextricably linked in Afghan minds.

"Earlier this year, the sort of strident sort of criticism that you heard coming out of the White House certainly indicated that there was displeasure with the disfunction of the government in Kabul," Rondeaux said. "But they've had to back away from that, because any Karzai fault is something that really can be linked very much to the failure of the United States to press very hard for greater transparency, greater accountability, and to also put in place institutions that are responsive to the Afghan people."

Army War College National Security Studies professor Larry Goodson says the U.S.-Karzai relationship has been souring for some time, but that, in his opinion, the Obama team has not been able to formulate⁸ any alternative to Hamid Karzai.

"I think the bloom is off the rose (the relationship has soured), but I don't think they quite knew who else it could be, or how to make it be someone else or facilitate a free and fair election. I mean, to do that you'd almost have to get Karzai not to run," he said.

The election comes as the Obama administration embarks⁹ on a new Afghan strategy. It has shifted from the narrow focus of counter-terrorism that was the hallmark of the post 2001 period to a broader approach of counter-insurgency, with higher troop levels and more training of Afghan soldiers and police. July was the bloodiest¹⁰ month for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since they were first deployed¹¹ there in 2001.

Analysts¹² say that Mr. Karzai also has been cutting political deals with local ethnic¹³ and tribal¹⁴ leaders to ensure his re-election. Candace Rondeaux says it is not at all clear that he can come through on his promises, and that could have a future impact on U.S. and allied¹⁵ military operations.

"Whatever deals that are being done, they are certainly being done behind closed doors," Rondeaux said. "It may not be until maybe a year, or two years from now before we fully¹⁶ understand the impact of the deal-making that was done, in order to secure these voting blocs¹⁷ in places like Qandahar, Helmand, where the insurgency has really taken control, and where the government is the weakest and it has the weakest bargaining position."

Although he is a U.S. ally, Mr. Karzai has made civilian¹⁸ casualties from U.S. air strikes a campaign issue. Larry Goodson says that, from the point of view of Mr. Karzai and his advisors¹⁹, trying to distance himself from the United States is just good politics.

"He's been playing the anti-American, anti-Western coalition²⁰ card, I think, both genuinely and, at the same time, cynically," Goodson said. "I do think that he gets genuinely angry and frustrated²¹ and unhappy when a village is bombed accidentally or whatever. But at the same time, I think it's politically a smart card for him to play. And he and his supporters and team in the (presidential) palace are aware of this."

Most analysts expect Mr. Karzai to win. But with 41 candidates running and strong challenges coming from former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani, a second runoff vote is considered like

1 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

2 knotty   

adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的

参考例句：

• Under his leadership,many knotty problems were smoothly solved.在他的领导下，许多伤脑筋的问题都迎刃而解。
• She met with a lot of knotty problems.她碰上了许多棘手的问题。

3 calibrate   

校准；使合标准；测量（枪的）口径

参考例句：

• Pesticide levels in food are simply too difficult to calibrate.食品中杀虫剂的含量很难精确测定。

4 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

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 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。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

9 embarks   

乘船( embark的第三人称单数 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• Patricia is a free-spirited girl who embarks on an erotic odyssey. 翠茜亚是个任性少女、毅然踏上一次性爱之旅。
• Passenger train driver: Punctually embarks. 客车司机：准时出发。

10 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

11 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

12 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。

13 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

14 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。

15 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。

16 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

17 blocs   

n.集团，联盟( bloc的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The division of Europe into warring blocs produces ever-increasing centrifugal stress. 把欧洲分为作战集团产生了越来越大的离心效果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The policy of the two blocs was played out. 把世界分为两个集团的政策已经过时了。 来自辞典例句

18 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。

19 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor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：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

20 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。

21 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》