新闻周刊:特朗普政府要求国会赔偿塔利班(2)

Steve Ellis, executive vice¹ president of Taxpayers³ for Common Sense, told Roll Call that the funding request felt like a headline ripped from satirical newspaper, The Onion.

负责纳税人常识的执行副总裁史蒂夫埃利斯在接受《点名》采访时表示，这一融资请求感觉就像讽刺报纸《洋葱报》的头条新闻。

"Even if you leave aside that they are still conducting operations against our interests and allies, having to pay for someone to be at the table undercuts our bargaining position and demonstrates their lack of enthusiasm for a deal," Ellis said. "I'm sure the Taliban would like whatever cash we're willing to give them, but it's not like they aren't able to continue funding their fighting. How about using some of that cash instead of American taxpayer² dollars."

“即使撇开他们仍然在进行损害我们利益和盟友利益的行动不谈，花钱请人来谈判也会削弱我们的谈判地位，显示他们对达成协议缺乏热情。”艾利斯说。“我相信塔利班会喜欢我们愿意给他们的任何现金，但这并不是说他们不能继续为战斗提供资金。用这些钱来代替美国纳税人的钱怎么样?”

Since October 2018, Washington has held six meetings with the Taliban in Qatar as part of its efforts to come to a peace agreement and eventually exit Afghanistan, ending the longest war in U.S. history.

自2018年10月以来，华盛顿与塔利班在卡塔尔举行了六次会晤，作为达成和平协议并最终撤出阿富汗的努力的一部分，结束了美国历史上持续时间最长的战争。

The meetings, however, have not yet been successful as the Taliban say they will not agree to a ceasefire until all foreign forces leave Afghanistan and will not accept the current Afghan government.

然而，会谈还没有取得成功，因为塔利班说，他们不会同意停火，直到所有外国军队离开阿富汗，他们也不会接受目前的阿富汗政府。

The Taliban, who once harbored Osama Bin⁴ Laden⁵, are considered an insurgent⁶ organization and reportedly make an estimated $800 million each year from trafficking in the drug opium⁷. The group ruled over Afghanistan from the 1990s until the U.S. invaded the country in 2001.

曾经窝藏奥萨马·本·拉登的塔利班被认为是一个反叛组织，据报道，塔利班每年通过贩卖毒品鸦片赚取大约8亿美元。该组织从上世纪90年代开始统治阿富汗，直到2001年美国入侵阿富汗。

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

美国政府没有立即回应置评请求。

1 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。

2 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

3 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

4 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

5 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

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 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。