2006年VOA标准英语-Afghan FM: Pakistan Should Do More to Prevent C

By Meredith Buel
Washington
07 July 2006

Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta says Pakistan needs to do more to stop terrorist groups from crossing its border and launching attacks against Afghan civilians¹ and U.S.-led coalition² troops. The foreign minister made his remarks during an interview with VOA.

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Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta during his exclusive interview at VOA studios in Washington 
  
Foreign Minister Spanta's visit to Washington coincides with a spike³ in attacks by Taleban militants⁴ in their former stronghold in southern and eastern Afghanistan.

At least 600 people, mostly insurgents⁵, have died in recent weeks in heavy fighting between international troops and remnants of the Taleban militia⁶.

The Afghan foreign minister has charged that Taleban leaders in Pakistan's rugged⁷ tribal⁸ areas are coordinating⁹ attacks inside Afghanistan.

Islamabad denies granting sanctuary¹⁰ to the militants. Pakistan says it has 80,000 soldiers operating in areas bordering Afghanistan, and hundreds of its soldiers have been killed fighting insurgents backed by the Taleban and al-Qaida.

In an interview with VOA, Afghan Foreign Minister Spanta said terrorists fighting inside Afghanistan are trained and financed abroad, and then are coming across the border from Pakistan to launch attacks. "We believe there is not enough activity against terrorist groups outside Afghanistan in neighboring countries," he said. "Our Pakistani friends, they believe they can't have control of the centers of terrorist groups. But we hope, and we are ready to have better consultation¹¹ and better cooperation in anti-terror war with our Pakistani friends."

The current violence in Afghanistan is the worst since Taleban leaders were ousted¹² in late 2001 by U.S.-led forces. The insurgents have mounted numerous attacks, including raids, ambushes¹³ and suicide bombings since early May.

Foreign Minister Spanta said one reason for the upsurge is that Afghan security forces, especially in the south, are weak. "Our security troops, our security forces in the southern part of Afghanistan are very weak in intelligence, in weapons, in vehicles and communications and training problems," he said. "Also, the number of our security power is very small. For example, for some districts with more than 40,000 population, we have only 41 or 42 policemen."

Despite the violence, Foreign Minister Spanta says a great deal of progress has been made since the Taleban militia was swept from power four and a half years ago. "We have an elected president," he noted¹⁴. "We have an elected parliament. The democratic legitimization is an historical achievement."

The foreign minister said seven million Afghans are now enrolled¹⁵ in school, and nearly half are girls. Spanta said the national economy is growing, with an 85 percent increase in the gross national product since 2001.

Spanta says Afghanistan is going through massive changes, and he realizes the country is still a young democracy with many problems.

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 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。

3 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

4 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。

5 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

6 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

7 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

8 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。

9 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

10 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。

11 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

12 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。

13 ambushes   

n.埋伏( ambush的名词复数 )；伏击；埋伏着的人；设埋伏点v.埋伏( ambush的第三人称单数 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• He was a specialist in ambushes, he said, and explained his tactics. 他说自己是埋伏战斗方面的专家，并讲述了他的战术。 来自互联网
• It makes ambushes rather fun. 它使得埋伏战术非常有趣。 来自互联网

14 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。

15 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》