VOA标准英语 Indian PM to Discuss Taliban with Obama

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to tell President Barack Obama there is no difference between good and bad Taliban when they meet this week on the G20 sidelines.
　
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (file)

India's prime minister will meet U.S. President Barack Obama for the first time at the Group of 20 meeting Thursday in London.

While the global economic crisis is to dominate the official agenda, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the U.S. President will also discuss South Asian security.

Speaking to reporters in Guwahati in northeast India, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Mr. Singh is eager to discuss the insurgencies along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

Mukherjee is expressing unease with proposals to allow so-called "good" Taliban in a future power-sharing arrangement in Afghanistan to fight al Qaida and other terrorists.

"I am afraid our perception is you cannot make a distinction between good Talibans and bad Talibans," Mukherjee said. "There cannot be any good terrorists or bad terrorists."

The Taliban, who are primarily ethnic¹ Pashtuns, are active in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A U.S.-led military operation in 2001 ousted² the Taliban from power in Afghanistan.

The Indian minister added Afghanistan's problems cannot be solved without simultaneously³ taking care of the challenges faced by it neighbor, Pakistan. Mukherjee pointed⁴ to territories under Pakistan's administrative⁵ control as the epicenter of global terrorism.

The initial face-to-face meeting between the Indian and U.S. leaders in London this week is viewed as crucial for maintaining the warming ties between New Delhi and Washington.

The Indo-American relationship blossomed during the presidency⁶ of George W. Bush. Traditionally the United States maintained a closer relationship with Pakistan than India.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence in 1947. During the Cold War era, India was officially a non-aligned state, but had a deep level of cooperation with the Soviet⁷ Union. Russia remains⁸ the top supplier of weaponry, aircraft and other equipment to India's military.

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

3 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。