VOA标准英语2010年-Afghan President to Visit Washington A

Afghan President Hamid Karzai listens during a meeting with elders in Kunduz, Afghanistan, 11 Apr 2010

Afghan President Hamid Karzai comes to Washington for talks with President Obama next week, amid the Afghan leader's efforts to reconcile with the Taliban.  Some foreign policy analysts¹ in Washington say various differences over the timing² and level of the reconciliation³ still persist.

President Obama's surprise visit to Kabul in March led to some tension with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

It was triggered by Mr. Obama's open criticism of the Afghan leader's efforts to combat corruption⁴.

The tension has somewhat eased now, and Mr. Karzai will be looking for support for his efforts to reconcile with some of the senior Taliban leaders.

But Tony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the Taliban leadership has no reason to talk at this time.

"When it comes to the top of the Taliban, we need to understand, since at least 2004, they have seen constant progress," said Cordesman.  "They have no reason to reconcile or make compromises. You don't do this when you are winning."

Marvin Weinbaum at the Middle East Institute says he doubts Mr. Karzai is serious when he talks about involving top Taliban leaders.

"I think that President Karzai's interest in talking to the Taliban is simply a way of distracting people from the pressure that he gets from the international community," noted⁵ Weinbaum.  "He is playing the nationalist card. I don't think that he has a serious concept that he is going to strike a deal with the Taliban."

Analysts also note that the Taliban leadership is not unified⁶. So Cordesman says any reconciliation will not be at the top, but at the level of provinces and districts. But that too, he says, is fraught⁷ with serious differences.

"You have U.S. experts, British experts, and ISAF experts who disagree. You have an excellent new head of UNAMA who is looking at this issue and bringing the United Nations into this for the first time," added Cordesman.

But he says during the Obama-Karzai talks, a broad outline of the future strategy should emerge.

"There will be a host of compromises and agreements which won't be announced. And there will be a list of un-reconciled differences," said Cordesman.  "A few may hit the press, but most are not going to be made public."

The Obama administration, so far, has opposed a full reconciliation, saying it is okay to bring in only the low-level foot soldiers, and that too after the latest offensive in Kandahar.

"The operation in Kandahar is not going to be a conventional offensive," said General David Petraeus.  "It is rather a series of precise operations."

The Obama administration hopes the offensive could weaken the Taliban over the next six to 12 months.  But Gilles Dorronsoro of the Carnegie Endowment, who just returned from a trip to Afghanistan, disagrees.

"It is out of question that we can break the Taliban insurgency⁸ in Kandahar, the city or the province. It is totally out of question," said Dorronsoro.

Mr. Karzai and many Afghans fear that if Washington waits too long to decide about talking to the Taliban,  Pakistan's army and intelligence service will take control, as they did in the 1990s after the Soviet⁹ forces withdrew and Washington abandoned Afghanistan.

Most Afghans oppose any major role for Pakistan in their country, as do most regional powers, such as India, Iran, Russia and the five Central Asian republics.
 

1 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

2 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

3 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 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。

6 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

7 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

8 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

9 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。