VOA标准英语2008年-Insurgents Step up Attacks in Eastern Afghanist

The commander of U.S. and coalition¹ forces in Eastern Afghanistan says his area has experienced a 40 percent increase in insurgent² attacks on coalition and Afghan forces since January, compared to the same period last year. And, speaking via satellite, the general told reporters at the Pentagon the attacks are more complex and more sophisticated than they used to be. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.
　
Italian soldiers, with ISAF, stand guard during the inauguration³ ceremony of 3 km of newly made sewer⁴ drainage in Kabul, 24 Jun 2008

The newly arrived U.S. commander, Major General Jeffrey Schloesser, painted a relatively⁵ bleak⁶ picture of the situation in his main area of responsibility in Eastern Afghanistan.

"We think we've had about a 40 percent increase in kinetic⁷ events, and we define those as really, literally⁸ the number of enemy attacks we've had on our coalition and Afghan partners, and this is compared to the exact same time of January through May of last year," he noted⁹.

General Schloesser says some of the increased fighting has resulted from moves by the Afghan Army into areas where it has not operated before.

But he also says many of the attacks are more complex than they used to be, with insurgents¹⁰ using multiple roadside bombs combined with small arms fire to attack U.S. and NATO convoys¹¹. In addition, the general says the insurgents are getting more sophisticated in their choice of targets, trying to convince Afghans that their government and its allies cannot provide the security and development they have promised.

"They are aggressively targeting what I will call both development and governance at the local level," he added. "They're burning schools, and in fact they've attacked 43 here in our sector¹² ever since school started here in Afghanistan in late March. And they are also killing¹³ teachers and they're killing students."

General Schloesser says the insurgents have even turned to such tactics as using a 10-year-old boy to carry a suicide bomb.

The general also says the Afghan military is performing well, and is, in his words, "almost at the tipping point" where its momentum¹⁴ "will not be able to go backwards¹⁵." But he also says the job of providing security is made more difficult because Taliban forces and other insurgents have safe havens¹⁶ in Pakistan, which they can access whenever they need to rest, rearm and make plans for more attacks.

Still, the general says establishing security is only one part of the effort that Afghanistan and its allies must pursue in order to convince ordinary Afghans to turn away from the insurgents and support the government.

"The key to that is going to be development and really increasing demonstrably the quality of life for the normal Afghan villager and their family, and then linking the governance at the village level and at the lowest levels, the district level, to that same villager and their family over time," he said. "The security part is really meant to buy them enough time to get to that point."

General Schloesser would not predict how long that might take, but he believes progress is being made. Other officials have said the progress will be slow unless NATO is willing to send more, and more capable, forces to Afghanistan.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

4 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

5 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。

6 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

7 kinetic   

adj.运动的；动力学的

参考例句：

• There exist many sources of energy both potential and kinetic.存在着许多势能和动能的能源。
• The kinetic theory of gases is the best known example.气体动力学理论就是最有名的例子。

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 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。

10 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

11 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

13 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。

14 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

15 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

16 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网