VOA常速英语2007年-More Foreign Fighters Reported Aiding Taliban i

By Bill Rodgers
Washington
14 November 2007
 

There are signs that more foreign fighters are joining the Taliban in Afghanistan. These foreign militants¹ are believed responsible for the upsurge in suicide bombings -- and some experts say they have strengthened the Taliban insurgency². More from VOA's Bill Rodgers.

The Taliban always had foreigners in its ranks, but experts say a new surge is bolstering³ the insurgency.

Most are Pakistani militants, who slip across the border into Afghanistan to join the Taliban. But there are other nationalities as well -- says Seth Jones, a specialist on Afghanistan at the Rand Corporation. "Small numbers are Arabs, especially Saudis, Libyans, Egyptians. A small number also of Uzbeks, Chechens and some other Central Asians. But the bulk of these are Pakistanis, including Pakistani Pashtuns."

A suspected fighter from Siberia was featured in a recent New York Times article -- his capture an indication of how foreigners are coming to the region to fight alongside the Taliban.

As in the 1980s when foreigners came to Afghanistan to fight against occupying Soviet⁴ forces, the motivation for this new generation of foreign militants is holy war.

Jones adds, "Like Iraq in many ways, this is a fight against what these individuals consider to be a major jihad against an unwelcome western foreign presence in Afghanistan. These are crusaders who are trying to destroy Islam, in their view, so this is about fighting a jihad against an unwelcome visitor."

NATO forces fighting the insurgency, are picking up evidence of these foreign militants. But the U.S. military says there is no sign of a foreign fighter surge.

U.S. Brigadier General Rodney Anderson recently said, "We have, through communications monitoring, we have heard dialects that appear to be coming from outside the region. We have not gotten any specific information that would lead us to believe there is a large influx⁵, or significant influx, of foreign fighters."

But the number of suicide attacks is at a record high -- and most are believed to be carried out by foreign militants.

The impact and casualties caused by these attacks outweigh⁶ the relatively⁷ small number of foreign fighters believed to be in Afghanistan.

Again, Jones explains. "The Arabs, the Russians, the Chechens, the Central Asians that have been involved in the fighting, they bring, what I call, a force multiplier capability⁸ to the insurgency. And that is, they provide increased ability to kill Afghan and NATO forces through suicide attacks. There are much more sophisticated improvised⁹ explosive device attacks, use of the Internet and other media activities. These foreigners increase the ability of local Taliban to fight and then conduct an information campaign."

And because of that, the Taliban insurgency is a more effective fighting force -- according to Afghan expert Alam Payind. "I don't think that the Afghani Taliban are capable of sustaining this kind of surge as they are doing right now without the backing of al-Qaida and this foreign insurgent¹⁰ group. So without them, I don't think the Taliban are sustainable."

Despite Taliban video releases, the U.S. military says the insurgency is limited, able only to stage hit-and-run attacks -- and not hold territory.

Yet the impact on civilians¹¹ of the deadly suicide bombings, experts say, works to undermine support for the Afghan government.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 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

3 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

6 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

9 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

10 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。

11 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。