2006年VOA标准英语-Negroponte Says Afghan Government Must Extend A

By Gary Thomas
Washington
04 October 2006

Entire Negroponte Interview

The top U.S. intelligence official says the government of Afghanistan must expand its authority over more of the country if the resurgence¹ of the Taleban is to be checked. In a VOA interview by Gary Thomas, John Negroponte says the expanded NATO force is having a significant impact on the Taleban.

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John Negroponte (file photo)

In an interview in his Washington office, Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte said the Afghan government must extend its authority beyond the capital Kabul in the face of Taleban resurgence.

"It's challenging," he said. "And one of the main issues for the government of Afghanistan is to extend its writ³ and its reach into the more remote, not only province capitals, but into the districts as well. But they're working on it. There are programs that exist that are trying to address that, and that's one of the things that they're going to have to work hard on going forward."

The Taleban was ousted⁴ from power by Afghan opposition⁵ fighters and U.S. Special Forces in 2001 for giving safe haven⁶ to the al-Qaida terrorists who carried out the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. But the Taleban is experiencing something of a resurgence, and attacks on coalition⁷ and Afghan forces have risen sharply in recent months.

Negroponte says the Taleban is, like other terrorist groups, exploiting local grievances⁸ about issues such as corruption⁹ and poor governance to attract recruits. He also attributes the increase in attacks to a more aggressive posture¹⁰ by NATO forces, which have taken an increasingly direct role in fighting the insurgency¹¹ based along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

"I think that several things may explain the increased violence in southern Afghanistan, not the least of which that coalition forces and NATO forces have been taking a more proactive posture in that part of the country," he said. "And NATO forces have started going into areas that had previously¹² not been touched by allied¹³ forces. So I think that one has to take that into account. And my understanding is that the Taleban have suffered some quite severe losses in those engagements. And it remains¹⁴ to be seen what the net outcome of all of that is."

The new spate¹⁵ of attacks has also sparked another war, this one of words between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart, Pervez Musharraf.

President Karzai, who was in Washington recently, accuses President Musharraf of not cracking down on Taleban activity in and infiltration¹⁶ from Pakistan's largely lawless tribal¹⁷ areas on the border. President Musharraf, who was also in Washington at the same time, responds by saying the Taleban is an Afghan problem, not a Pakistani one.

President Bush, who considers both Pakistan and Afghanistan key allies in combating terrorism, hosted both men at a White House dinner in an attempt to mend the rift¹⁸ between the two countries.

Recent Pakistani military action to root out terrorists in the border area known as the Waziristan Agency was ineffectual, so the government recently signed a treaty with tribal leaders there to get them to stop the cross-border infiltration.

Asked about the controversial treaty, Director Negroponte would not comment directly on the pact², but said it remains to be seen if it will accomplish its purpose.

"So I think, as they say, 'the proof of the pudding will be in the eating', and we'll have to see how in actual fact this arrangement is implemented," he noted¹⁹. "But I think you're right to raise the issue, and it's certainly something that we among others, will be watching very carefully."

However, Barnett Rubin of New York University, a former U.N. advisor²⁰ in Afghanistan who is considered to be the foremost American academic expert on the country, says the treaty is already in trouble.

"The way President Musharraf describes the treaty - as a deal with [tribal] elders to get their political support against extremism - would be a very good idea, which I would support if it were true," he said. "But if you have been following this for several months, as I have been, you know it was actually initiated²¹ by the Taleban themselves in order to get a safe haven, which they now have. And it is clear that since the treaty was signed they are not in any way observing the agreement not to engage in cross-border activities."

On Wednesday, the Afghan intelligence agency announced it had arrested 17 aspiring²² suicide bombers²³ who, it alleged²⁴, had trained in Pakistan.

1 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

2 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

3 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

4 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

11 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

12 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

13 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

16 infiltration   

n.渗透；下渗；渗滤；入渗

参考例句：

• The police tried to prevent infiltration by drug traffickers. 警方尽力阻止毒品走私分子的潜入。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A loss in volume will occur if infiltration takes place. 如果发生了渗润作用，水量就会减少。 来自辞典例句

17 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

18 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

19 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

20 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

21 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

22 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

23 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为