美国国家公共电台 NPR 'The Taliban Can't Win,' Says Commander Of U.S. Forces In Afghanistan

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The United States is trying again to force the Taliban to negotiate in Afghanistan through 16 years of war - 16 years as of this month - that has been the hardest part. President Trump¹'s new strategy for the war called for sending more troops and giving no timeline for their withdrawal².

NPR's Tom Bowman was recently in Afghanistan and spent a day with the man who has to make the new strategy work.

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TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE³: General John Nicholson sits with his fellow NATO officers and Afghan officials inside a massive aircraft hangar at a base in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. It's a change of command ceremony, handing over command of the training effort here from one German general to another. Nicholson gets up to speak and sends a pointed⁴ message to insurgent⁵ fighters.

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JOHN NICHOLSON: The Taliban cannot win, and they have no choice but to reconcile. The good news is that reconciliation⁶ is possible because of the hard work and the sacrifice of the Afghan National Security Forces and the Afghan people.

BOWMAN: Before long, Nicholson heads back to his headquarters in Kabul. He settles into his wood-paneled office lined with plaques⁷, pictures and ceremonial swords. He spent more time in Afghanistan in various jobs than any other senior American officer, a total of five and a half years.

Nicholson's a genial⁸ West Point graduate with salt-and-pepper hair and a renewed confidence. That's because the White House gave him more authority to attack the Taliban, more warplanes and drones to mount punishing airstrikes and a few thousand more American troops to advise the Afghans. Just seven months ago, Nicholson said the Afghan fight was at a stalemate.

NICHOLSON: With the policy decision announced by President Trump, it sets the conditions for us to get to a peaceful resolution of this conflict.

BOWMAN: Is it still a stalemate?

NICHOLSON: It is a stalemate right now. I mean, the authorities, the troops, the air are newly arrived. But with these, we can now move this in the right direction.

BOWMAN: The general says key parts of the plan include, over the next several years, doubling the size of the Afghan commandos, the army's best fighters, and doubling the size of the Afghan Air Force, providing its pilots with modern American helicopters to replace the aging Russian ones. Maybe more importantly, the troop drawdowns and deadlines of the Obama administration are no more. Conditions on the ground, success against the Taliban, will be the new metric.

NICHOLSON: It's absolutely critical. So that plus the Pakistan piece were absolutely critical.

BOWMAN: The Pakistan piece - that means getting rid of the Taliban safe havens¹⁰ in Pakistan just across the border. Since the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan has ignored pleas, threats and the withholding¹¹ of aid money from the U.S. to eliminate these sanctuaries¹², which the Taliban uses to plan and regroup. Nicholson says he can't be successful while those safe havens exist.

NICHOLSON: The president said, you know, no partnership¹³ can survive when one of the partners is providing safe haven⁹ to terrorists who are attacking the other. So...

BOWMAN: But they've been providing safe haven for years and years and years. What's different?

NICHOLSON: Well, number one that's different is that those conversations are going to occur at the highest level of government. And I don't want to insert myself into that.

BOWMAN: Nicholson is convinced that cutting off those sanctuaries and putting more military pressure on the Taliban in Afghanistan will force the Taliban to the bargaining table. But some military officers and regional experts in Washington think that's too optimistic. The Taliban have proved resilient, have plenty of weapons and enjoy public support, particularly, in the southern part of the country. The Afghanistan national government is not popular out in the provinces, is riddled¹⁴ with corruption¹⁵, consumed with infighting and at times predatory.

Nicholson says the Afghan government is now making important changes, appointing more competent military commanders and prosecuting¹⁸ corruption cases. And for the first time, next year, Afghans will go to the polls and elect district representatives who up to now have been appointed.

NICHOLSON: This is significant because this is the first time that we'll have representative government at the local level connecting with representative government at the national level.

BOWMAN: Andrew Wilder, an Afghan expert at the U.S. Institute of Peace, has another concern. The new Trump strategy places too much emphasis on military action against the Taliban and not enough on diplomacy¹⁹.

ANDREW WILDER: Right now, we're focusing on the - inflicting²⁰ pain and not offering the talks piece. I'm worried that on one hand, we're putting the pressure on and the other hand, saying, well, let's take the table away.

BOWMAN: Nicholson says there's some outreach to the Taliban at the local level, but he acknowledges the Taliban political office in Qatar, opened in 2013 for peace talks, could close.

NICHOLSON: That conversation is going on at the national level between our government and the Afghan government. There's pros¹⁷ and cons¹⁶ to that, but I'll just leave it at that.

BOWMAN: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Nicholson points out, says the Taliban office is not being used for the peace process.

NICHOLSON: It's being used for fundraising for the Taliban inside the Gulf²¹ and that they've been - again have been not been materially advancing the peace process.

BOWMAN: So military pressure on the Taliban is clearly the central part of the new strategy. And the fight is now being led by the Afghan military, supported by American airstrikes that have doubled over the last year. And to assist in the current and future fight, the U.S. is sending another 4,000 troops to Afghanistan. Nicholson said small teams will help Afghan forces down to a lower level, closer to frontline fighting.

NICHOLSON: We are there to advise. We're not there to engage in combat.

BOWMAN: Still, he acknowledges that being closer to the battle - even going out on missions - could mean more American casualties.

NICHOLSON: There's no telling - that could end up - you know, in the fluid battlefield we face, they could come in harm's way.

BOWMAN: The number of American troops next year in Afghanistan will increase from 11,000 to roughly 15,000. At the height of the war, some 140,000 U.S. and NATO troops were fighting, and they could still not seal a victory against the Taliban. General Nicholson has a ready answer.

NICHOLSON: We only had 140,000 troops for a period of about 18 months out of a 16-year war.

BOWMAN: And the troops left too soon, a view held by a number of senior officers who served in Afghanistan.

NICHOLSON: I'll tell you, as a military commander, I think we drew down too far, too fast. And that's what led to some of the challenges we've faced the last couple of years. We pulled off the Afghan units too soon, and now we're fixing that.

BOWMAN: General Nicholson says the goal is to get Afghanistan to quote, "a manageable level of violence."

NICHOLSON: The key here is not to eliminate all violence. It's to simply get it to a level that can be controlled by the government forces.

BOWMAN: When will that level be achieved? General Nicholson predicts about five years.

Tom Bowman, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF TYCHO'S "COASTAL BRAKE (MANUAL MIX)")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 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。

6 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

7 plaques   

（纪念性的）匾牌( plaque的名词复数 )； 纪念匾； 牙斑； 空斑

参考例句：

• Primary plaques were detectable in 16 to 20 hours. 在16到20小时内可查出原发溶斑。
• The gondoliers wore green and white livery and silver plaques on their chests. 船夫们穿着白绿两色的制服，胸前别着银质徽章。

8 genial   

adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的

参考例句：

• Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
• He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友，也是友善待客的主人。

9 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

10 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

11 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

12 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

13 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

14 riddled   

adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式)

参考例句：

• The beams are riddled with woodworm. 这些木梁被蛀虫蛀得都是洞。
• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

16 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

19 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。

20 inflicting   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。
• It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不让动物遭点罪是不可能的。

21 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。