VOA标准英语2010年-Afghanistan Gets New Roadmap for Self-

Afghan President Hamid Karzai at an international conference on Afghanistan's future in Kabul, 20 July 2010

Two major highlights emerged from this week's International Donors¹' Conference in Kabul.  The first - a 2014 timeline set by President Karzai for an Afghan takeover of its own security from international forces. And the second - the donors' decision to channel 50 percent of their foreign aid through the Karzai government. As VOA's Ravi Khanna reports, prominent Washington analysts² say the decisions present both perils³ and possibilities.

Against the background of the donor's meeting in Kabul, US-led NATO forces continue their crackdown on the Taliban in Southern Afghanistan - the success or failure of which will determine the future of the Afghan strategy.

Here, in southern Kandahar province, US troops stage a mortar⁴ attack on a Taliban hideout in the Arghandab valley.
The valley is a major transit⁵ route for Taliban fighters into Kandahar - where they launch quick bombings and retreat.

 

In Kabul, meanwhile, President Karzai set 2014 as a definite timeline for Afghans to take over security from the international forces.

"Our Afghan national security forces will be responsible for all military and law enforcement operations throughout our country by 2014," said President Karzai.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the time frame will at last provide Afghans with a chance to decide their own future.

"Afghanistan will now take the lead in shaping the country's future," said Ban Ki-moon. "Afghans will set the priorities and decide which path to follow. The international community will play a supporting role."

Experts say the Afghan situation presents the United States with a case of contradictory⁶ needs.  On the one hand, the US has to prove its commitment.  But on the other, it must show that it has no intention to be there forever. Kurt Volker is a former US ambassador to NATO.

"This July 2011 date that President Obama had mentioned is too soon and gave people the impression that we are just about leaving, so putting something further out in the future as a horizon is important both to show the commitment and also show the desire in the long term to leave after it is successful," said Kurt Volker.

Some analysts say President Karzai's timeline also provides a basis for the international community to start scheduling its own troop withdrawal⁷.

British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was the first to talk about it Wednesday, just one day after the Kabul conference.

"No timetable could be chiselled⁸ in stone, but we are absolutely determined⁹, given how long we've been in Afghanistan - given that we are six months into an 18-month military strategy embarking¹⁰ on a new political strategy, that we must be out in a combat role by 2015," said  Nick Clegg.

The international donors at the conference also agreed to channel at least half of their aid money directly through the Karzai government, rather than through non-government aid organizations and contractors¹¹.

And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said for the first time that she was encouraged by Mr. Karzai's efforts to combat corruption¹² in his government.

But analysts like Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies remain skeptical¹³. Cordesman says the US and its allies are equally responsible for making the corruption possible for various reasons.

"A total lack of control of auditing¹⁴ of the aid money, a lack of focus on effectiveness [of the aid] and Afghan needs, time and again the question is to carry out a plan that suits the prejudices and desires of the capital that's giving the aid, rather than what the Afghans need," said Anthony Cordesman.

Analysts say the results of the conference should assure the Afghan people that the US and its allies are not there to "defeat" Afghanistan, but to empower Afghanistan - to help the people gain control and eventually manage their own country. The new road map, they say, might just do that. 
 

1 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 perils   

极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）

参考例句：

• The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
• With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？

4 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

5 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

6 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

7 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

8 chiselled   

adj.凿过的，凿光的； （文章等）精心雕琢的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 )

参考例句：

• A name was chiselled into the stone. 石头上刻着一个人名。
• He chiselled a hole in the door to fit a new lock. 他在门上凿了一个孔，以便装一把新锁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

10 embarking   

乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• He's embarking on a new career as a writer. 他即将开始新的职业生涯——当一名作家。
• The campaign on which were embarking was backed up by such intricate and detailed maintenance arrangemets. 我们实施的战争，须要如此复杂及详细的维护准备。

11 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。

13 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

14 auditing   

n.审计，查账，决算

参考例句：

• Auditing standards are the rules governing how an audit is performed.收支检查标准是规则统治一个稽核如何被运行。
• The auditing services market is dominated by a few large accounting firms.审计服务市场被几家大型会计公司独占了。