VOA标准英语2008年-Gates: US Not Ready to Send More Troops to Afgh

U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates says there is still no plan to send additional U.S. combat troops to Afghanistan, even though he has said he would like to do so "sooner rather than later." VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

Two weeks ago, Secretary Gates said officials were "working very hard" to figure out which additional U.S. combat forces could be sent to Afghanistan to deal with increased violence during the current summer fighting season. At a news conference on Thursday, he said no such forces have yet been identified, but he did not rule out getting additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan before the fighting season ends.

"I'm just saying that we're still working through it and I haven't received any recommendations yet from the chiefs [of the military services] or from the Central Command commander," he said.

Secretary Gates did confirm that a small number of U.S. troops may be deployed² to Afghanistan in the coming weeks to work in particular specialties³, such as disposing of explosives and helping⁴ with civilian⁵ development and governance projects.

"The numbers are not significant. At most, a couple of hundred, maybe," he said.

For a larger force of combat troops, Secretary Gates is waiting to see a formal recommendation from military leaders. And he says any major deployment⁶ to Afghanistan will have to await recommendations on future troop levels in Iraq, which are expected in September.

Earlier in the week, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell indicated that while there is concern about increased violence in Afghanistan, officials do not see the situation as "desperately⁷ urgent."

"Though the situation is serious and the commanders need additional troops, there is not the sense in this building among military planners, among the civilian leadership, that the situation is desperate, precarious⁸ or urgent. It is an ongoing⁹ problem that needs to be addressed," he said.

According to the Defense Department, July was the first month in which more U.S. troops died in Afghanistan than in Iraq. The department says nine died in Iraq, but five of them died in accidents and other non-combat events. In Afghanistan, 20 U.S. troops died in July, four of them from non-hostile causes. The Afghanistan total includes nine troops who were killed in one insurgent¹⁰ attack on a remote outpost.

 

 

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 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 specialties   

n.专门，特性，特别；专业( specialty的名词复数 )；特性；特制品；盖印的契约

参考例句：

• Great Books are popular, not pedantic. They are not written by specialists about specialties for specialists. 名著绝不引经据典，艰深难懂，而是通俗易读。它们不是专家为专业人员撰写的专业书籍。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Brain drains may represent a substantial reduction in some labor force skills and specialties. 智力外流可能表示某种劳动力技能和特长大量减少。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 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。

6 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

7 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

8 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 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。