VOA标准英语2009年-Pentagon Says More Afghanistan Troops May Await（在线收听）

The World Bank's chief economist, Justin Yifu Lin, on Monday repeated his call for coordinated global stimulus to get the global economy out of deep recession.
　
World Bank's chief economist, Justin Yifu Lin, 28 Jan 2009

Lin told an audience at Washington's Peterson Institute for International Economics that two major issues much be addressed to prevent the global downturn from becoming even more serious.

"One, is whether we can overcome the threat of [trade] protectionism, or not," said Lin. "And second, is whether we have the wisdom to come up with some kind of decisive, large enough, coordinated fiscal stimulus."

Lin expressed concern that the commitments to avoid protectionism made by the leaders of 20 high income and developing countries last November might be eroding. A follow-up summit to the November Group of 20 meeting is scheduled for April in London.

Lin is the first World Bank chief economist to come from a developing country. Prior to assuming his position in June, he headed a research agency at China's Beijing University. He earned an advanced degree in economics from the University of Chicago.

The World Bank official wants 0.7 percent of the value of each country's economic stimulus package to be committed as assistance to the world's poorest countries. Lin said these countries need infrastructure projects that can promote economic growth.

"It's because high income countries don't have so many opportunities of those kinds of [infrastructure] investments," he said. "You make those investments in high-income countries, and the case of Japan [in the 1990s] is going to be repeated."

Lin said Japan found that its program in the 1990s for combating a weak economy and deflation through government spending was stymied by consumers who cut back even further on spending. Lin did not say whether he thought the same might occur in the United States, which is finalizing a program of some $800 billion in tax cuts and emergency government spending.

The Pentagon says orders to deploy additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan may not be issued until after a White House strategy review is completed. Previously, officials had said the troop deployment orders would come soon, regardless of the conclusions of the strategy review.

It was just last week that Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell confirmed what he had said before, that regardless of what strategy President Obama adopts for Afghanistan, more troops will be needed to improve security.
　
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell speaks during a news conference, at the Pentagon in Washington (File)

"My understanding is that whatever decision is made, on additional forces for Afghanistan, will likely take place in advance of the conclusion of the strategy review that this White House has undertaken on Afghanistan," said Morrell.

Morrell also said the logistics of sending tens of thousands of troops half-way around the world would require those decisions before the White House review is completed, which could be several weeks or more.

But another Pentagon spokesman, Bryan Whitman, said Monday the strategy review and the troops deployment decision are being conducted in "parallel" and that "time will tell" which is completed first.

"There is certainly a fairly unanimous understanding that some level of force increase is necessary in Afghanistan. How much? When? All those things, those are being looked at. But is it conceivable that you could have some announcements about deployment orders, additional forces going into Afghanistan, before the strategy review is totally completed? Sure," he said. "Is it possible that we might not have those announcements until the strategy review is completed? Sure."

Whitman called weekend news reports of a delay in the troop deployments "fundamentally misinformed." The reports, including one in the Times of London, said President Obama decided to hold any deployment announcement at least until the strategy review is farther along.

Whitman said there was never a firm date for the deployment announcement, which many observers had expected last week. But at the same time, Whitman acknowledged he was being less "definitive" on the timing than his colleague Geoff Morrell has been in recent weeks.

And while the White House review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is continuing, Whitman also said Defense Secretary Robert Gates has not changed his view of the need for about 10,000 more U.S. combat troops and thousands more support troops to be sent there this year, in addition to several thousand who have already arrived.

"There has been no change to what the secretary has characterized in the past in terms of what we believe is not only necessary, but also the timelines in which he remains hopeful to provide some of that capability," said Whitman.

The United States has about 36,000 troops in Afghanistan, and the further deployments could bring the number to about 60,000. U.S. officials have signaled that the Obama Administration, will continue to pursue a counterinsurgency strategy, trying to improve security, move to local control and reconciliation, and promote economic development. But they also say some broader Bush administration goals, such as establishing a western-style democracy and society, may be put aside, at least for the next several years.