2006年VOA标准英语-US Seeks to Heal Rift Between Key Anti-Terror A

By Gary Thomas
Washington
26 September 2006

President Bush is set to host a tripartite meeting with the leaders of two of the nations in the anti-terrorism fight. Presidents Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan will join President Bush for a dinner meeting Wednesday at the White House. The two neighboring countries have recently traded some harsh words over terrorist activity along their mutual¹ border.

 
US soldiers in an armored vehicle secure the site of a suicide car bomb blast, in Kabul, Sept. 8, 2006
Five years after the Taleban government was driven from power in Afghanistan, a resurgent insurgency² has been attacking Coalition³ and Afghan troops in southern and eastern parts of the country.

A leading Western expert on Afghanistan, Barnett Rubin of New York University, says that has sparked a war of words between Presidents Musharraf and Karzai over the level of effort spent by their respective governments to deal with the insurgency.

"The universal consensus⁴ on the Afghan side of the border, among Americans, military and civilian⁵, among Europeans, military and civilian, and Afghans, military and civilian, is that the headquarters of the Taleban are in fact in Pakistan," he said. "And this has precipitated⁶ an escalating⁷ war of words between Presidents Karzai and Musharraf, which is disruptive to U.S. efforts in the area. So the Bush Administration is hoping that somehow this meeting will be able to resolve these conflicts."

The sharp rhetoric⁸ has continued while both leaders are in the United States, prompting the unusual three-way meeting Wednesday at the White House.

 
Pervez Musharraf in New York, Sept. 25, 2006
President Musharraf rejects the claim that his government has been lax in cracking down on Taleban activity, and says it is President Karzai who has not done enough to bring them under control.

"Instead of this blame game that goes on, they [Afghan officials] must realize what is the environment, he must realize what is the correct environment, and take action accordingly in Afghanistan," he said. "The problem lies in Afghanistan, and that is creating problems in Pakistan."

 
George Bush, right, and Hamid Karzai talk about continuing war on terrorism during news conference at the White House, Sept. 26, 2006
Appearing with President Karzai, President Bush jokingly said that it will interesting to watch the body language' of the two leaders if they are supposedly feuding⁹. But in a more serious vein¹⁰, he said he is satisfied that the Afghan and Pakistani leaders are committed to a cooperative effort against terrorism.

"From my discussions with President Karzai and President Musharraf, there is an understanding that by working together it is more likely that all of us can achieve a common objective, which are stable societies that are hopeful societies that prevent extremists from stopping progress and denying people a hopeful world," he said. "I know that is what President Karzai thinks, and I know that is what President Musharraf thinks."

What particularly angered President Karzai is a truce¹¹ President Musharraf recently signed with tribal¹² leaders on the Pakistani border area of north Waziristan. The area has been a hub of Taleban cross-border activity, and Pakistani military efforts to root out the insurgents¹³ have had little effect.

Barnett Rubin says the pact¹⁴, which was endorsed¹⁵ by Taleban leader Mullah Omar, has given the Taleban an operational base along the border of Afghanistan's Paktika province.

"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 initiated¹⁶ by the Taleban themselves in order to get a safe haven¹⁷, 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."

President Karzai says he supports any deal that denies terrorism a sanctuary¹⁸ in North Waziristan or in the tribal areas of Pakistan. For now, he added, he is taking what he called a wait-and-see attitude.

1 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

2 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

3 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。

4 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 precipitated   

v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀

参考例句：

• His resignation precipitated a leadership crisis. 他的辞职立即引发了领导层的危机。
• He lost his footing and was precipitated to the ground. 他失足摔倒在地上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

8 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

9 feuding   

vi.长期不和（feud的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Riccardo and Cafiero had been feuding so openly that the whole town knew about it. 里卡多和卡菲埃罗一直公开地闹别扭，全城的人都知道此事。 来自辞典例句
• The two families have been feuding with each other for many generations. 这两个家族有好多代的世仇了。 来自互联网

10 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

11 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

12 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。

13 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

14 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。

15 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 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。

17 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。

18 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。