2006年VOA标准英语-NATO: Additional Troops Not Needed in Afghanist

By Gary Thomas
London
13 September 2006

NATO says its counter-offensive against the Taleban has achieved most of its objectives in Afghanistan.  But in talks Wednesday NATO countries did not reach agreement on committing more troops to the fight against the resurgent Taleban.

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Troops from NATO military secure  site of suicide bombing at main highway near Kandahar   
  
Speaking after a meeting of NATO generals in southern Belgium, spokesman James Appathurai said no formal offer of additional troops was made during the conference, and that there are already sufficient forces in Afghanistan to wrap up the current offensive against the Taleban.

But Appathurai said there were what he termed "positive indications" that some countries might consider contributing more forces at some point.

In remarks in London Wednesday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said British troops, who are bearing the brunt of the battle in southern Afghanistan, need help from Europe.

 
Tony Blair, Sept. 12, 2006  
  
"This British commitment in Afghanistan is important.  They are inflicting¹ real damage on the Taleban and al-Qaida," he said.  "But it is important that the whole of NATO regards this as their responsibility."

NATO has gradually taken over counter-insurgency responsibilities in the Taleban heartland of southern Afghanistan, with British, Canadian, and Dutch troops making up the bulk of the NATO force.  But they have been taken aback by the ferocity and resilience of the Taleban's resistance.

More than 30 NATO soldiers and hundreds of militants² have been killed in recent clashes.  NATO says 173 people, most of them civilians³, have been killed this year in suicide bombings, which are a comparatively new practice in Afghanistan.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said Afghanistan risks becoming a "failed state" if efforts to stamp out the Taleban and fortify⁴ the Afghan government falter⁵. 

There are currently about 18,500 NATO troops in Afghanistan, and about the same number of U.S. forces. 

U.S. and British officials have asked that NATO nations contribute up to 2,500 more troops to the Afghan fight.  Last week, General James Jones, NATO's top operational commander, said the current force is about 15 percent under strength.

But some NATO countries claim that military or peacekeeping commitments elsewhere have left them unable to contribute more forces.
 
Mike Gapes⁶, chairman of the British Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, says some European nations are afraid to put their troops in harm's way.

"Unfortunately, some of our European partners, for political reasons, have got a policy of basically not deploying⁷ troops into areas where they might get into a conflict in terms of harm," he said.  "And I think that is very, very short-sighted and it is potentially long-term dangerous to all of us."

In the aftermath of the fall of the Taleban regime in 2001, a U.S.-led coalition⁸ force dealt with counter-insurgency while foreign troops, under the umbrella of the U.N.-mandated International Security Assistance Force, mostly confined their activities to peacekeeping in the country's capital, Kabul.  In July, NATO took over direct responsibility for security operations in the troubled south.

With no commitment for more troops emerging from the Brussels meeting, the issue may have to wait for resolution until a meeting of NATO defense⁹ ministers later this month.

1 inflicting   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。
• It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不让动物遭点罪是不可能的。

2 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。

3 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。

4 fortify   

v.强化防御，为…设防；加强，强化

参考例句：

• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
• This treaty forbade the United States to fortify the canal.此条约禁止美国对运河设防。

5 falter   

vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚

参考例句：

• His voice began to falter.他的声音开始发颤。
• As he neared the house his steps faltered.当他走近房子时，脚步迟疑了起来。

6 gapes   

v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的第三人称单数 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• His shirt gapes open with a button missing. 他的衬衫因丢了一颗纽扣而敞开着。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then, sometimes, the door slowly opens and gapes ajar for a moment. 有时房门会慢慢打开，敞着不动。 来自互联网

7 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

8 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。

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。