VOA标准英语2011--US Ambassador Promises Not to Abandon Af

US Ambassador Promises Not to Abandon Afghanistan

Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States began a new engagement in the Muslim world. One of the key architects of that engagement is the newly-appointed U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker.
Few American statesmen have spent more time on the front line of America's post 9/11 diplomatic efforts than current U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker. He re-opened the U.S embassy in Kabul in 2001 following the fall of the Taliban, later served as ambassador to Pakistan and then to Iraq, where he was partnered with General David Petraeus during the surge of U.S. troops.
He was also in New York on the day of the attacks and carries the memory close to his heart. "It has defined my life and my career from that moment to this. I've spent five years since 9/11 deployed¹ in these countries and I expect to be here for several more. Because I, you know, 3,000 people killed on one New York morning is something none of us ever want to see again," he said.
At first, the U.S. was reluctant to engage in nation-building in Afghanistan, preferring to focus on removing the Taliban from power and hunting down al-Qaida.
But within a few years, it became apparent that without building institutions it left a vacuum in the country that allowed the Taliban to sneak² back in from safe havens³ in Pakistan and destabilize Afghanistan again.
Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, a former Afghan foreign minister who became an opponent of President Hamid Karzai, says the internatonal community, and the Afghans themselves, have missed an opportunity by not understanding one another better, ignoring the Pakistani safe havens and allowing corruption⁴ to grow in the country, notably⁵ within the government. "These three factors (have) led to this situation, and 10 years down the road we should have been in a much better situation in terms of Afghan institutions assuming responsibility,shouldering responsibilities," he said.
When the U.S. came to Afghanistan, the policy was to put anti-Taliban warlords on the payroll⁶ - turning a blind eye, critics say, to their abuses. which led to an environment of corruption.
Afghanistan is a devastated⁷, impoverished⁸ country. Ambassador Crocker has seen firsthand what happens when institutions are either non-existent or removed, and he says that people need to be patient in building up Afghan civil society.
"Institutions take time to build. Particularly in Afghanistan, like in Iraq, you've had not just the removal of a leader, you've had a revolution. All these old structures are gone. So you don't get ministries⁹ that function perfectly¹⁰ overnight, or even over a decade. It takes time to develop those. It takes time to develop the rule of law. Which means, whether it is Iraq or it is Afghanistan, you are going to have corruption. It has to be taken seriously," he said.
But with a 2014 timetable set for NATO combat troops to leave Afghanistan, many say the Taliban is under the impression they can just wait out the West. Dr. Abdullah says this is due to the past experience of Soviet¹¹ forces leaving in haste, and a lack of clarity of message about what will happen after NATO combat troops leave.
"It's a very uphill struggle, with the past experience of the Afghan people, the Soviet withdrew overnight, and the last soldier, the last tank... That is very vivid in the memory of the Afghan people. But, at the same time, the admiinistration, the Afghan administration, confusing it's own people. The range of the views of the Afghans, you will be surprised that it differs from a complete withdrawal¹², nothing left behind, to permanent bases," he said.
To avoid another vacuum and civil war like the one that broke out following the Soviet withdrawal, the West is working on building up local forces, as they did in Iraq.
And not abandoning Afghanistan again, as well as getting that message across, is a priority for Ambassador Crocker. Because, he says, the consequences are unacceptable.
"To leave before the job is done, to leave before Afghan security forces are capable of providing security throughout the country, risks a return of the Taliban. And that is why, a decade on, we must muster¹³ the strategic patience, as a nation and as a people, to do everything we can to make sure that things come right here, and next door in Pakistan, precisely¹⁴ so we never have to endure that kind of attack again," he said.
Like the Ambassador, Many Americans involved say despite the distance of time, the images from 10 years ago remain a driving force in their work in Afghanistan.

1 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

2 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

3 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

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 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

6 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

7 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

8 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

10 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

11 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。

12 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。

13 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

14 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。