2007年VOA标准英语-US Officials Urge Pakistan To Help Fight Taleba

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
14 February 2007

U.S. defense¹ and military officials have told Congress Pakistan needs to do more to eliminate Taleban insurgents² along the border with Afghanistan. Their testimony³ on Capitol Hill Tuesday follows recent talks Defense Secretary Robert Gates had in Pakistan with President Pervez Musharraf. VOA's Dan Robinson reports.

Lieutenant4 General Karl Eikenberry (file photo)" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070521/0959190.jpg" width="195" vspace="2" border="0" />

Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry (file photo)

Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, says there is very good cooperation with Pakistan regarding the situation along the border.

However, he says a combination of what he calls a "comprehensive counter-insurgency approach" by Pakistan and a steady direct attack against Taleban command and control centers is essential at this stage.

General Eikenberry says that the Taleban continue to use Waziristan, along the Afghan-Pakistan border, as well as territory deeper inside Pakistan to direct attacks inside Afghanistan:

"We are still left with areas right now in Waziristan, and areas inside of Pakistan, where our strong belief is that mid-level, and especially senior level command and control of the Taleban and al-Qaida is," said General Eikenberry.

The general says U.S. and NATO forces are "well-positioned" to deal with an upsurge of Taleban violence this spring. Other officials at the hearing also touched on the problem.

Noting that President Musharraf faces a sensitive political situation at home, defense department official Mary Beth Long is quite specific as to steps the U.S. is looking for:

"Border arrangements along the east, and in particular in northern Waziristan, need to be tightened⁵ and increased," said Mary Beth Long. "I think you have heard both Afghan and Pakistani leaders talk about sealing the borders. In Quetta, we are terribly concerned regarding Taleban and other leadership that are in Baluchistan and other tribal⁶ areas who continue to manage and direct Taleban and al-Qaida activities. Activities against those will be needed.

Of the 27,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, about 16,000 are under the command of NATO.

But while NATO has assumed command of 25 Provincial⁷ Reconstruction⁸ Teams (PRT), lawmakers are concerned that NATO is still not doing as much as it can.

Ike Skelton is the Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee:

"Our NATO partners must seriously step up their efforts, fulfilling their obligation on both troops and freeing their forces from restrictions⁹ that limit their ability to fight," said Ike Skelton.

In his testimony, John Gastright, the Afghanistan coordinator¹⁰ in the State Department, echoed the concern expressed by lawmakers:

"NATO needs to meet the requirements it set when taking on the mission in Afghanistan, and drop the caveats¹¹ that hamper¹² our cooperation and effectiveness and supply the forces that commanders need to succeed in their efforts," he said.

The officials appealed to lawmakers to approve $5.9 billion in a supplemental spending request to the 2007 budget and another $2.7 billion for 2008. They say the money is needed for equipment and other needs of Afghanistan's national army and police.

General Eikenberry says this will allow the Afghan army to expand to 70,000 and police to 82,000 by the end of 2008. The expansion, he says will give Afghan forces the means to meet threats from insurgents.

1 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。

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 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

4 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

5 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

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 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

8 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。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

11 caveats   

警告

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling. 为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。 来自辞典例句
• As I have written before, that's quite a caveat. 正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。 来自互联网

12 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。