2006年VOA标准英语-Renewed Taleban Insurgency Straining Pak-Afghan

By Gary Thomas
Washington
04 December 2006

Pakistan announced Monday that its foreign minister, Khurshid Kasuri, will go to Afghanistan Friday for a three-day visit. A Pakistani spokeswoman says the talks will focus on bringing what she labeled "peace and calm" to the border areas. As VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, the Taleban insurgency¹ operating along the border has strained ties between the two countries.

Militants3 who they say are Talebans, pose with RPG and AK47, in Zabul province, south of Kabul" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070510/1632560.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Militants who they say are Talebans, pose with RPG and AK47, in Zabul province, south of Kabul

When the Taleban government fell in 2001, their fighters went on the run - for the most part, across the border to Pakistan, where they found sanctuary⁴ and sympathy among the ethnic⁵ Pashtun tribesman that control the largely lawless tribal⁶ areas. Now reinvigorated, Taleban fighters have ratcheted up their attacks on NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan from bases in areas of Pakistan like Baluchistan, Waziristan, and Bajaur, with fighting this year reaching levels not seen since 2001.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have pointed⁷ the finger of blame at each other for not doing enough to bring the militants under control, and that has strained relations.

James Dobbins, director of the International Security and Defense⁹ Policy Center at the RAND Corporation, says the Taleban sanctuaries¹⁰ in Pakistan are a major headache for the U.S.-led anti-terrorism efforts.

"Pakistan is really our preeminent¹¹ problem in the region and in the region more broadly," said James Dobbins. "I mean, if there is a central front in the war on terror, it's Pakistan; it's not Iraq. Terrorists who are planning on blowing up airplanes across the Atlantic don't go to Iraq for inspiration, guidance, or financing; they go to Pakistan. Bin⁸ Laden¹² is not in Iraq; he's in Pakistan. It was the Pakistani government that was supporting the nuclear programs in North Korean and Iran. The Taleban is operating out of Pakistan."

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf says the problem of the Taleban is not on his side of the border.

"We are doing all that we can," said Pervez Musharraf. "The Taleban problem is an Afghan problem."

But Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States, Said Tayeb Jawad, says the core cause of the problem is in Pakistan.

"In order to fight terrorism effectively in Afghanistan, we have to deal with the issue of institutional support for extremism in Pakistan," noted¹³ Said Tayeb Jawad.

General Musharraf is trying to address U.S. and British calls for him to get tougher with the Taleban. But his cooperation with the United States is facing increasing opposition¹⁴ from the Islamic religious parties, and even, say analysts¹⁵, from within his own military, whose ranks are reluctant to go into tribal areas and fight their own countrymen. An offensive into North Waziristan to attack militant² strongholds resulted in large casualties and ended with a peace deal between the government and pro-Taleban tribal leaders.

Afghan affairs analysts say Pakistan has repeatedly tried to intervene to get a pro-Pakistan government in Kabul and that the Taleban, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, was largely the creation of Pakistan. Barnett Rubin of New York University, a leading expert on Afghanistan, says that Pakistan has not abandoned its efforts to get a friendlier government in Kabul, even if it includes Taleban elements.

"There is every indication that the Taleban is planning and equipping themselves for an even more massive offensive in the spring, which will coincide with a Pakistani diplomatic offensive and asking for a change of government in Kabul and the installation of people more friendly to Pakistan," said Barnett Rubin.

On the other side of the border, Afghan President Karzai is struggling to establish his government's authority around the country but is hampered¹⁶ by corruption¹⁷ and a growing narcotics¹⁸ trade. Recent U.S. studies say opium¹⁹ production is at all-time high, and that efforts to train the Afghan police have had only limited success.

The two presidents met recently in Washington to try to iron out their differences, and agreed to convene²⁰ a joint²¹ jirga, or council, of tribal leaders from both sides of the border in the spring. Pakistani officials say that jirga is high on the agenda of the Pakistani-Afghan foreign minister talks.

1 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

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 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。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 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。

9 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。

10 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

11 preeminent   

adj.卓越的，杰出的

参考例句：

• Washington was recognized as the preeminent spokesman of American Negroes by 1895. 到1895年,华盛顿被公认为美国黑人的卓越代言人。
• He is preeminent because his articles are well written. 他的文章写得很漂亮,卓尔不群。

12 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。

13 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。

14 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。

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

16 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

17 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。

18 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

20 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

21 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。