VOA标准英语2008年-Pakistani PM Visits US During Tension in Counte

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is expected to meet with top U.S. officials in Washington this week, including President George Bush. His visit comes during new tensions among Afghan, Pakistani and U.S. officials over how to counter a growing Taliban insurgency¹ in Afghanistan. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad.

Taliban fighters in Afghanistan launch new offensives each summer when warm weather eases travel and clears passes in the country's rugged² mountains. But the summer of 2008 has been particularly violent, with a 40 percent increase in attacks in eastern Afghanistan over the previous year.

Just across the border in Pakistan, Taliban militants⁴ have expanded their territory and now control large parts of the country's remote tribal⁵ areas. Officials in northwestern Pakistan say Taliban influence is spreading out from the tribal regions into larger towns.

U.S. and Afghan officials say countering the Taliban in Afghanistan will require depriving insurgents⁶ of their strongholds in Pakistan's tribal areas. Afghan President Hamid Karzai says militants who use those bases to launch attacks across the border are his country's most serious threat.

"The fight against terrorism is not in Afghanistan and we will not be secure and safe unless Afghanistan and the international community address the question of sanctuaries⁷ in Pakistan and the terrorist training camps there," he said."

But Afghan and Pakistani officials not only argue over what to do about the Taliban sanctuaries, but also who is to blame for the militants' growth. In the past month, officials from both countries have accused their counterparts of supporting Taliban factions⁸. Afghan officials even directly accused Pakistan's military and intelligence services of participating in the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul. Pakistan rejected the allegations.

During a visit to Kabul last week, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop⁹ Scheffer took time to urge both countries to cooperate.

"More than ever we now need a regional approach in trying to stem this situation," he said. "Because I cannot imagine anyone who would consider it acceptable that many terrorists from all over the world gather in a certain area and create mischief¹⁰ and havoc¹¹ there."

But in recent months, Pakistani officials have made it clear that they are forging their own strategy in countering the militant³ groups and it is a strategy that favors holding peace talks instead of military operations.

The talks have drawn¹² concern from NATO, Afghan and U.S. officials, who have urged Pakistan to do more to stop the Taliban from launching attacks in Afghanistan.

Rehman Malik is the head of Pakistan's interior ministry¹³. Last week he rejected suggestions that the United States is pressuring the government to move more aggressively against the militant groups.

"We are taking our own actions; we are designing our own policies," said Malik. "There is no interference whatsoever¹⁴ from outside and we will not accept any interference from anywhere."

President Pervez Musharraf is viewed by many Pakistanis as having long followed a military-focused counter-terrorism policy advocated by the United States, which security analyst¹⁵ Talat Masood says damaged his popularity within Pakistan. Masood says the new government is being careful not to follow the same path.

"They don't want to give an impression that they are fighting this war on behalf of America," he said. "So they don't want any American involvement. At the same time I think the present government has not really settled down to an extent to formulate¹⁶ and implement¹⁷ an integrated policy against militancy¹⁸ and the rising insurgency. And meanwhile, the militants are taking full advantage."

In the United States, some officials have responded to the rising Taliban insurgency with proposals for more foreign aid to the Pakistani government, including a five-year, $7.5 billion civilian¹⁹ development package.

Pakistani officials have welcomed proposals for more aid. However, lawmakers in the otherwise fractious coalition²⁰ government also say there is broad agreement that no outside countries should be involved in how Pakistan chooses to deal with the Taliban militants.

Before leaving Islamabad on Saturday, Prime Minister Gilani told reporters that security issues will be high on the agenda during his U.S. visit. But he said his coalition government will continue to pursue its own strategy in countering the Taliban insurgency.

"This is our own fight, this is our own cause,"said the Pakistani prime minister. "I have lost my own leader because of terrorism. So my priority number one is to maintain law and order in the country."

Besides meeting with President Bush on Monday, Pakistani officials say Mr. Gilani will meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense²¹ Secretary Robert Gates as well as the country's two leading presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama.

　

 

 

 

1 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

2 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。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 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。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 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

7 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

8 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

9 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

10 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

11 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

12 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

13 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

14 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

15 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

16 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

17 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

18 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

19 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。

20 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。

21 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。