2007年VOA标准英语-US Officials Brief Congress on New Military Com

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
01 August 2007

U.S. officials sought to reassure¹ members of Congress Wednesday that the State Department would have a key role in a planned U.S. military command for Africa (AfriCom).  They also underscored that the command unit is not being established with combat in mind, as VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

State and Defense² Department officials told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that AfriCom will take a long-term, inter-agency approach to improving security, governance and development in Africa.  They say the aim is to boost cooperation on anti-terrorism and peacekeeping activities, and programs that promote regional stability.

Theresa Whelan (file photo)

Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for African Affairs Theresa Whelan emphasized that AfriCom is focused on security, not combat.

"AfriCom's focus is on war-prevention rather than on war-fighting," he said.  "We are reorganizing the inner workings of the command to better position it for theater security cooperation activities and preventing problems from becoming crises and preventing crises from becoming catastrophes³ or conflicts."

Whelan says AfriCom will address security issues in cooperation with African leaders.  She says the United States has no intention of basing U.S. troops or military forces on the continent, only staff personnel.

But she did say the new command unit could result in more joint⁴ exercises.

"I would anticipate that there would be an increase in the amount of exercises we conduct and other types of military-to-military cooperation activity," he added.

U.S. lawmakers generally approve of plans for AfriCom, although they have questions about its approach.

The top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, says he is concerned the new military command would erode⁵ the State Department's role in foreign policy in Africa, particularly since the Pentagon has a larger budget and more personnel.

"The State Department is woefully under funded," he said.  "This is the reason we get into these predicaments of who is doing what, because, expediently⁷, the Defense Department has money, it has personnel, and so as a result, this imbalance within our own structure, will be reflected in AfriCom, initially⁸, hopefully not perpetually.  But this really does need to be addressed: who does what, who has the money and so who calls the shots, in some instances."

Jendayi Frazer (file photo)

Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer, offered reassurance⁹.

"The Department of State will continue to exercise full foreign policy primacy and authority in Africa, and I am confident that no one in the Department of Defense disagrees with this," she said.

Senator Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat¹⁰, says he has heard concerns from a number of African countries about the command unit.

"The conversations we have had have indicated a negative response from the African countries on AfriCom," he said.

He did not elaborate.   But defense department officials have said that African leaders have expressed concern that AfriCom could lead to a militarization of U.S. foreign policy in Africa.  

The officials say that once they explain details of Africom, African nations become more receptive.

Secretary Frazer said the State Department has received "largely positive" reaction from African nations.

Secretary Whelan says Liberia, Botswana, Senegal and Djibouti are among those countries that have expressed support for AfriCom.

Secretary Frazer says no decision has been made yet about the location of AfriCom's headquarters on the continent.  She noted¹¹ Liberia's president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has made public her country's interest in hosting the command unit.

AfriCom is expected to begin operating in a limited way by October, and be fully⁶ operational a year later.

The command unit will cover all of Africa except Egypt, which will remain under the responsibility of Central Command, the unit that also handles the rest of the Middle East and Central Asia.

1 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

2 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。

3 catastrophes   

n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 )；灾难；不幸事件；困难

参考例句：

• Two of history's worst natural catastrophes occurred in 1970. 1970年发生了历史上最严重两次自然灾害。 来自辞典例句
• The Swiss deposits contain evidence of such catastrophes. 瑞士的遗址里还有这种灾难的证据。 来自辞典例句

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 expediently   

adv.方便地，得当地，便利地

参考例句：

• Machine technician can use this language to show the assembly project expediently. 这种语言能够使机床技术人员用直观、便捷的方法来演示虚拟机床的装配方案。 来自互联网
• Non-grade speed adjustment by frequency converters, working steadily, use and maintenance expediently. 该机使用变频调速，生产连续性强，分散混合效果好，使用，维护简单方便。 来自互联网

8 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

9 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

10 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。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。