2006年VOA标准英语-NATO Commander Calls for More Reconstruction in

By Al Pessin
Washington
04 October 2006
 
On the eve of the transfer of security responsibility throughout Afghanistan to NATO, the organization's military commander called Wednesday for more action on non-military aspects of the international effort in the country. General James Jones said NATO and the U.S.-led coalition¹ will not be defeated in Afghanistan, and that therefore the more important battles are being fought on other fronts. 

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General James Jones

General Jones says NATO forces in southern Afghanistan won major victories over Taleban insurgents² this summer, killing³ as many as 1,500 of them. He says now, reconstruction⁴ teams need to move in to demonstrate to the local population that the Afghan government and NATO can provide a better life than the Taleban can.

"There is a requirement to do more, and to bring more focus, more clarity, more purpose and more results in a shorter period of time. And fundamentally, this is the exit strategy for Afghanistan," he said.

In addition to a more effective reconstruction program, General Jones says Afghanistan needs to improve the quality of its new police force, and end corruption⁵ in the police and among other government officials, especially in the justice system.

"Corruption is a big problem in Afghanistan. On that score, the results in the last three years have been, in my view, singularly unimpressive. The Karzai government and those countries that are helping⁶ in this reconstruction aspect of Afghanistan need to show quicker and better success in as short a period of time as possible," he said.

General Jones says better training and higher salaries would be a good start in the fight against corruption. He also called for a more effective program to end the Afghan economy's reliance on poppy growing and the illegal drug industry, which he says has a huge impact on Afghan society. He says the drug cartels have their own armies and contribute to the country's security problems.

General Jones says NATO and other countries involved in Afghanistan, along with the Afghan government, also have to do a better job of communicating their plans to the Afghan people.

"Is everything going great? No. But is there going to be a military defeat? No. So, the battle is over hearts and minds and whether you can, with 37 countries working together, can bring the changes that are required to jump-start that society. And with 37 countries under all the mandates⁷ that you want, all the legal authorities, the U.N. resolutions, you can do this. Eventually it'll be a success. It just depends how much time we want to spend doing it," he said.

According to the U.S. Defense⁸ Department, 12,000 of the 20,000 U.S. troops now in Afghanistan will come under NATO command on Thursday as it takes responsibility for the eastern part of the country. That is the largest number of U.S. troops ever put under NATO control. The other 8,000 U.S. troops will remain part of the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan. A spokesman says about half of those troops will continue to train the new Afghan National Army, and some of the rest will continue to conduct counter-terrorism operations, including the hunt for terrorist leaders such as Osama bin⁹ Laden¹⁰.

The NATO troops in Afghanistan, which will number about 32,000 with the additional U.S. forces, are commanded by a British general, but he is to be replaced in January by an American.

1 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。

2 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

5 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。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

8 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。

9 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

10 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。