VOA标准英语2010年-McChrystal Comments Mirror 'Varying At

NATO commander in Afghanistan US General Stanley McChrystal leaves by helicopter after a meeting between President Hamid Karzai and tribal¹ leaders in Kandahar city, Afghanistan (File Photo - 13 Jun 2010)

An Obama administration official says the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has been summoned to Washington to explain his controversial comments about President Barack Obama and members of his administration in a recent interview.  Also, Britain's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who has criticized elements of the U.S. war strategy, has resigned and the new government of Prime Minister David Cameron is reviewing whether to fill the job.

 General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has been summoned to Washington by the White House.  The move comes after McChrystal apologized on Monday for comments he and his staff made to the popular U.S.-based magazine Rolling Stone.

In the magazine's latest issue, McChrystal and his staff were critical of U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration.

One unnamed McChrystal advisor² described a meeting between the general and Mr. Obama at the Oval office as a "ten-minute photo op".  One aide also made jokes about Vice³ President Joe Biden.  And McChrystal himself told Rolling Stone that he had felt "betrayed" by U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry in a debate over war strategy.

Dan Plesch, director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy⁴ at London's School of Oriental and African Studies, says the interview was a major gaffe⁵. 

"It is not a good thing for senior officers to be making derogatory remarks about their commanders, their political superiors, in any kind of setting, certainly not in a formal setting and certainly not when the news media are present," Plesch said.

NATO has released a statement which says the Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has full confidence in General McChrystal and his strategy in Afghanistan.  The statement describes the Rolling Stone article as "unfortunate", but adds  - "it is just an article."

Meanwhile, Britain's special envoy⁶ to Afghanistan, Sherard Cowper-Coles, has stepped down.  A spokesperson for the British high commission in Islamabad says the envoy has taken "extended leave".

Gareth Price from the London-based research group Chatham House says it is so far unclear if Cowper-Coles made the decision to leave himself. 

"It is clear that he was keener than the official policy on engaging and negotiating with the Taliban, so that could be connected with it or potentially the new government wanting someone who maybe wasn't as closely linked with the previous government here in the U.K," Price said.

Cowper-Coles had recently clashed with senior U.S. and NATO officials over strategy in Afghanistan.  He argued that military-driven tactics were failing and negotiations⁷ with the Taliban should instead be prioritized.

Price says the incident with General McChrystal and the departure of Cowper-Coles reflect varying attitudes about the best approach in Afghanistan.  He says differences of opinion are reaching the boiling point because the situation in Afghanistan is not looking good. 

"You've suddenly seen that the implementation⁸ isn't going as smoothly⁹," Price said. "The progress in terms of the Afghan government doing its side of the bargain and improving its level of governance isn't happening as smoothly as it should, that the build-up of the Afghan army is again slower than it should.  I suppose people's tempers are getting a little bit frayed¹⁰, and hopefully we won't see more of this but there seems every chance that we might."

U.S. Defense¹¹ Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday that military leaders, including McChrystal, are confident that U.S. forces are making progress against insurgents¹² in Afghanistan.
 

1 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。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 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。

5 gaffe   

n.（社交上令人不快的）失言，失态

参考例句：

• I had no idea of the gaffe which I was committing.我不清楚我犯了什么错误。
• He made an embarrassing gaffe at the convention last weekend.他在上周末的会议上出了洋相，狼狈不堪。

6 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

9 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

10 frayed   

adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His shirt was frayed. 他的衬衫穿破了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The argument frayed their nerves. 争辩使他们不快。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 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。

12 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