2007年VOA标准英语-US, Afghan Operation Targets Terrorists in Tora

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
15 August 2007

The U.S. command in eastern Afghanistan is confirming that U.S. and Afghan forces are conducting an offensive against insurgents² in the rugged³ Tora Bora region. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

A spokeswoman for the coalition⁴ task force in the region says the operation involves several hundred U.S. and Afghan troops and has been going on for a few days. Captain Vanessa Bowman says the force is targeting insurgent¹ support bases and training sites near the Afghan-Pakistan border.

She says there have been no coalition casualties, and "no substantiated⁵ reports" of civilian⁶ casualties. Coalition and NATO forces have been criticized for accidentally killing⁷ too many Afghan civilians⁸, but Captain Bowman says targets for the current operation were chosen, in part, with a view to avoiding civilian casualties.

Bowman could not confirm reports of a parallel, coordinated⁹ Pakistani operation on its side of the border.

"I do not have information on Pakistan operations," said Bowman. "All I know is it is an operation between the Afghan and U.S. forces within Afghanistan to disrupt the militants¹⁰ there in the Tora Bora region."

Bryan Whitman (file photo)

At the Pentagon, spokesman Bryan Whitman described this effort as part of the normal "peaks and valleys" of what he called "aggressive offensive operations" by coalition forces in Afghanistan. And he also could not say whether Pakistani forces are conducting a parallel operation.

"Particularly along the border region, our cooperation with Pakistan is very good," said Whitman. "And we have mechanisms¹¹ for ensuring that we exercise the necessary control measures to understand what is occurring on each side of the border because, as you can imagine, that is important."

Whitman said such operations are driven by intelligence, but neither spokesman could say whether senior Taleban or al-Qaida leaders were the targets. The insurgent leadership is believed to be hiding in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, and has been headquartered in Tora Bora in the past.

The operation is being conducted by what is called Combined Joint¹² Task Force 82, the remnants of the U.S.-led coalition that invaded Afghanistan in 2001. The force is responsible for counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan, particularly in the east, while NATO forces now have general security responsibility throughout the country.

1 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。

2 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

3 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 substantiated   

v.用事实支持（某主张、说法等），证明，证实( substantiate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The results of the tests substantiated his claims. 这些检验的结果证实了他的说法。
• The statement has never been substantiated. 这一陈述从未得到证实。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 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。

9 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 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。

11 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。