VOA标准英语2011--10 Years After 9/11 Afghanistan Remains

10 Years After 9/11 Afghanistan Remains at War

Soon after the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the U.S. and its NATO allies went to war in Afghanistan to drive the Taliban from power and root out al-Qaida terrorists hiding there. That war is still going strong.
Post Taliban life
Mohammad Yaseen Jan is educating his children for a future that is far from certain. He returned to Afghanistan from Iran soon after U.S. and NATO troops arrived nearly 10 years ago. He thought then that peace had finally come to his tortured homeland.
"When we were refugees they didn’t even treat us as human," he says. "When we came back to living in Kabul security had gotten better. We can even earn a loaf of bread. We are happy and hope that God almighty¹ brings more security to Afghanistan and we will be able to enjoy a better life."
Yaseen's girls now attend school in Kabul, no longer restricted by the Taliban's authoritarian² rule. The Afghan capital has a democratically elected government. NATO and Afghan troops protect wide areas of the country. But the Taliban remain a threat, and Afghanistan is not a nation at peace.
Will the West abandon Afghanistan?
Poverty is widespread, corruption³ endemic. Opium⁴ poppy production and illegal drug trafficking are a way of life. Even the promise of wealth that vast mineral deposits offer is years in the future. Afghan parliament member Fawzai Koofi worries that the West will abandon her country, leaving Afghanistan to repeat the turmoil⁵ that followed the Soviet⁶ withdrawal⁷ in 1989 and the Taliban's rise to power.
"Our fear is that with the withdrawal, early withdrawal, without finishing this war properly and bringing a sustainable peace, the situation will grow worse than it was in 1992," Koofi says. " And the negative consequences, increasing insecurity and the Talibanization of the process in Afghanistan, is not only worse on us, as women, as people of Afghanistan but, believe me, it’s going to be worse on you."
Troop pullout
NATO is already winding⁸ down its combat role in Afghanistan. The U.S. plans to pull its troops out by 2014. The emphasis now is on turning the Afghan National Army into a competent security force and finding some way to reconcile with some elements of the Taliban. Both sides hope to negotiate from a position of power. But all Mohammed Yaseen Jan wants is for his children to grow up and for Afghanistan to be a better place.
"If peace is restored to Afghanistan, our children can go to school, graduate and serve their nation," he says. "But if the Americans get out of Afghanistan and the security gets worse again, we will have to leave Afghanistan. We will sell everything we have and we will migrate again."
And that will mean the end of the Yaseens' dream of a better life, and leave Afghanistan to face more years of war.

1 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

2 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

3 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。

4 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

5 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

6 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。

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 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。