US Says Taleban Forces Remain a Threat in Afghanistan

 

 

By Dan Robinson
 
The number two official in the State Department says Taleban forces remain a serious threat in Afghanistan, but have not been able to disrupt preparations for the upcoming election in October. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage also says though cooperation from European and other nations in Afghanistan has been mixed, the United States can still rely on long-term allied¹ support for security and the growth of democracy there.

This was the second appearance by Mr. Armitage before a House committee since last week when he testified about another topic high on the list of lawmaker's concerns, the situation in Iraq.

The focus Wednesday was on preparations for elections in Afghanistan amid what administration officials acknowledge is a worrying security situation leading up to October 9, when several million Afghans who have registered will vote.

In this exchange with Kentucky Democrat² Ben Chandler, Mr. Armitage was asked to assess security in the run-up to the election.

Chandler: But it is true that we have not finished the job in Afghanistan?

Armitage: Nowhere near it.

Chandler: And the Taleban is still active, still operative, and still apparently³ dangerous.

Armitage: I think they are.

In numerous hearings, lawmakers have expressed their impatience⁴ with what they view as less than satisfactory efforts by the Bush administration to pressure EU countries, and others such as Turkey, to contribute more troops to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

US Democratic Congressman⁵ Tom Lantos:

"Why isn't the administration making a strong effort to have Turkey deploy⁶ significant numbers of troops in Afghanistan," asked Democratic Congressman Tom Lantos. "Because this experiment in Afghanistan may yet fail, as you know better than I do. And I think we will deeply regret our unwillingness⁷ to tell the Europeans, and the Turks, and the Egyptians and others, that they have a responsibility. And pretending that these nominal⁸ contributions are adequate totally undermines our case."

Mr. Armitage provided what he called the philosophical⁹ observation that the United States may, in the long run, have to accept that it must shoulder most of the security burden in places such as Afghanistan.

But he had this comment when asked about chances for greater cooperation from European and other allies.

"We also have the feeling that [as] slow and unsatisfactory in some cases as both security and aid [are], that most of our European friends are still in it, they're not going to shy away, they're not quitting, they're just not going fast enough as far as we're concerned, so I think it's a mixed picture but it's much more perception than it is reality," said Mr. Armitage.

Turkey has contributed about 200 troops to U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan, which some lawmakers have described as shameful¹⁰ for a member of NATO.

Deputy Secretary Armitage says he believes the Turkish contribution could be increased, adding he will be making another diplomatic approach to Turkey.

A number of countries, but principally Britain and Germany, have assisted the U.S. led effort in Afghanistan.

In his testimony¹¹, Mr. Armitage called the level of voter registration¹² in his words "phenomenal and staggering," and referred to a recent public opinion poll, cited frequently by the administration, showing 85 percent of the Afghan people believe the country is on the right track.

He says President Bush has made it clear to President Hamid Karzai that despite the situation in Iraq, the United States remains¹³ committed to democracy and security in Afghanistan.

Dan Robinson, VOA News, on Capitol Hill.

注释：
testify 证明，证实
apparently 显然
International Security Assistance Force 国际安全救援部队
nominal 名义上的
shoulder 肩负
shy away 回避

 

1 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。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

5 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

6 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

7 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

8 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。

9 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

10 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

11 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

12 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。