VOA标准英语 Gates Calls on Pakistan to Do More to Fight Taliban

U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates has called on Pakistani leaders to do more to fight the Taliban, which he called a threat to the existence of democracy in the country. Speaking at a Marine² Corps³ base in North Carolina Thursday, Gates also discussed the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.
　
Sec. of Defense Robert Gates, (L) speaks with Lt. Col. Thomas Grattan III at Camp Lejeune, 23 Apr 2009

Secretary Gates was asked about the impact on the U.S. effort in Afghanistan of the Pakistani government's agreement with militants⁵ in the Swat Valley and the Taliban move into the Buner district near the nation's capital, Islamabad, this week.

"My hope is that there will be an increasing recognition on the part of the Pakistani government that the Taliban in Pakistan are in fact an existential threat to the democratic government of that country," said Robert Gates. "I think that some of the leaders certainly understand that, but it is important that they not only recognize it but take the appropriate actions to deal with it."

Gates' comments came the day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused the Pakistani government of abdicating⁶ its authority to the Taliban by agreeing to impose Islamic law in Swat. Gates indicated that future U.S. relations with Pakistan depend, at least in part, on the government's ability to take on the Taliban threat.

"We want to support them," he said. "We want to be helpful in any way we can. But it is important that they recognize the real threats to their country."

Secretary Gates and other U.S. officials have repeatedly called on Pakistan to shift more of its military from the Indian border to areas where militant⁴ influence is growing in its west and north.

Speaking just after meeting with U.S. Marines who will soon deploy⁷ to Afghanistan, the defense secretary also spoke⁸ about the urgency of making progress in that conflict. He said the military will try to find reservists with needed civilian⁹ skills and send them to Afghanistan to help with development and governance until the State Department and other agencies can fill the need.

"We have a finite amount of time to show that we're going to make progress in Afghanistan, and I just don't want to see any delays, whether it's on our military side or whether it's on the civilian side," said Gates.

The secretary also outlined his view of what victory will look like in Afghanistan, comparing it to recent progress and current plans in Iraq.

"Victory in Afghanistan will look, I suspect, in many respects like success in Iraq, and that will be the Afghan national security forces increasingly taking responsibility for the security of their own people, both the police and the army, as we then move from a direct combat role, which we're very heavily engaged in right now, more into a support role and then eventually being able, as we are in Iraq, to draw down and leave," he said.

Secretary Gates said U.S. officials are now working on a series of benchmarks to measure progress in Afghanistan. He said they will include monitoring the growth and competence¹⁰ of the Afghan Army and Police, the effort to fight the narcotics¹¹ trade and its funding for terrorism, and the West's ability to deliver aid to Afghan civilians¹².

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 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 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。

5 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。

6 abdicating   

放弃（职责、权力等）( abdicate的现在分词 )； 退位，逊位

参考例句：

• It is merely claimed that this is abdicating to save itself. 他仅仅把这称之为是人的高傲为了自我救赎而退出了王座。
• A complete hands-off approach is abdicating your business responsibility. 彻底的不闻不问意味着你对自己事业责任的放弃。

7 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 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。

10 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

11 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。