VOA常速英语2007年-Afghanistan Defense Minister Plans Troop 'Surge

By Al Pessin
Kabul
19 December 2007

Afghanistan's defense¹ minister is planning a training surge that would increase the number of Afghan soldiers available to fight the Taliban and al-Qaida by as much as 20 percent by the time the weather improves in the spring. VOA's Al Pessin reports from Kabul.

Afghanistan's Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak mentioned the plan Wednesday during a meeting with the top U.S. military commander in the region, Admiral William Fallon. The minister provided details later in a VOA interview.

"Actually, the purpose is that we should be able to have more troops when the fighting season comes," he said.

The minister says he wants to increase the number of troops trained during the next several months. The extra 5,000 recruits, in addition to 10,000 already scheduled to be trained, would bring the total size of the Afghan National Army close to 70,000. Until recently, that was the target figure for the army's total size, but the United States recently agreed to support a request from Kabul for an army of 80,000.

While the new troops are being trained, the minister says, his forces will try to break Afghanistan's traditional pattern of military lull² during the winter and move against the Taliban and al-Qaida.

"We will try to continue to do operations during the winter to stop their command and control and also entrap³ their communications, and all that, and to try to neutralize⁴ their capability⁵ to try to launch a spring offensive. But generally, I think it will be a fighting season when the snow melts, so we will have more ANA [Afghan National Army] available to deal with the situation," added Wardak.

Wardak says Afghan National Army troops are gaining experience and skill every day, and should be given more responsibility on the country's battlefields. He says some NATO countries do not work as well with his forces as he would like, and it should be "mandatory⁶" for NATO troops in Afghanistan to increase their cooperation with the country's army.

Wardak wants Afghanistan to end its need for foreign forces as soon as possible, but U.S. officials say they want to be careful not to give the Afghan military more responsibility than it is ready to handle.

Admiral Fallon met with the Afghan minister as part of a 30-hour visit designed to help him write an assessment⁷ of the situation in Afghanistan six years after the U.S.-led invasion. The admiral says the assessment is to include recommendations on what the United States can do to be more effective in helping⁸ stabilize⁹ Afghanistan and reduce its need for foreign military help.

1 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。

2 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

3 entrap   

v.以网或陷阱捕捉，使陷入圈套

参考例句：

• The police have been given extra powers to entrap drug traffickers.警方已经被进一步授权诱捕毒贩。
• He overturned the conviction,saying the defendant was entrapped.他声称被告是被诱骗的，从而推翻了有罪的判决。

4 neutralize   

v.使失效、抵消，使中和

参考例句：

• Nothing could neutralize its good effects.没有什么能抵消它所产生的好影响。
• Acids neutralize alkalis and vice versa.酸能使碱中和碱，亦能使酸中和。

5 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。

6 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

7 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。