US, France Increase Troop Strength in Haiti Capital

US, France Increase Troop Strength in Haiti Capital

 

Jim Teeple

 

U.S. and French troops in Haiti say they are increasing troop strength at friction¹ points in the capital, Port-au-Prince. U.S. Marines turned away rebels who tried to arrest Haiti's prime minister on Tuesday.

 

Nearly 500 U.S. Marines are now in place in Haiti, and together with about 200 French troops, they plan to increase their presence in Port-au-Prince in coming days. They will be joined by troops from other countries in the region bringing total multinational³ troops strength in Haiti to several thousand.

 

U.S. Marine² Colonel David Berger says troops from France and the United States are taking up positions at what he calls key friction points in the capital to prevent violence. Colonel Berger says in conversations with his French colleagues, there is broad agreement on the need to bring order to the Haitian capital.

 

"Absolutely, today you saw more presence, tomorrow you will see more again. Both their country [France] and ours [the U.S.] are leaning forward to a heavier presence downtown and a couple of other sites to make sure the city gets back on stable ground again."

 

U.S. Marines guarding the Haitian prime minister's official residence kept a large crowd of rebel supporters of Guy Philippe well away from the residence on Tuesday. The crowd was responding to a call from Mr. Philippe to arrest Prime Minister Yvon Neptune⁴, a key ally of Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide who fled Haiti on Sunday.

 

Colonel Berger says so far his troops have not come into conflict with Mr. Philippe's forces or any other Haitians, but he says the multinational forces are ready for any violence that might occur.

 

"Anybody who interferes⁶ with us is going be dealt with the same. Him [Guy Philippe], his people, or any other group. We do not target them. We will use the same degree of force with his elements or anyone else."

 

The U.S. Defense⁷ Department says total U.S. strength in Haiti is not expected to exceed 2,000. The United Nations has authorized⁸ the deployment⁹ of a multi-national force for Haiti which is expected to grow to about five thousand troops over the next few weeks.

 

注释：

Haiti [5heiti] n. 海地，位于加勒比海伊斯帕尼奥拉岛西部。

friction [5frikFEn] n. 摩擦

Port-au-Prince [5pC:t Eu5prins] n. 太子港（海地首都）

U.S. Marines  美国海军

multinational troops  多国部队

colonel [5kE:nl] n. 陆军上校

guarding [5^B:diN] adj. 保护的，监护的

residence [5rezidEns] n. 居住，住处

interfere⁵ with  妨碍，干涉，干扰

U.S. Defense Department  美国国防部

deployment [di5plCimEnt] n. 部署，配置

1 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

4 Neptune   

n.海王星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun.海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Neptune turned out to be a dynamic,stormy world.海王星原来是个有生气、多风暴的世界。

5 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

6 interferes   

vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉

参考例句：

• The noise interferes with my work. 这噪音妨碍我的工作。
• That interferes with my plan. 那干扰了我的计划。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

9 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。