2007年VOA标准英语-US Links Pakistan Agreement With Tribal Leaders

By David Gollust
State Department
01 March 2007

Senior U.S. defense¹ officials said Thursday Pakistan's agreement last year with tribal² leaders along the Afghan border has led to an increase in cross-border attacks, and that Pakistan needs to do more to address the problem.  VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

 
Eric Edelman
Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Eric Edelman, said the agreement to give tribal leaders responsibility for controlling the border area has not worked.  He said the United States has made its concerns clear to the Pakistani government.

"There has been an almost immediate⁴ and steady increase of cross-border infiltration⁵ and attacks immediately after the agreement was reached," he said.  "We've expressed, over a period of time, directly to President Musharraf and to others our skepticism and reservations about the agreement."

Edelman noted⁶ recent visits to Islamabad by Vice³ President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

At the same hearing, the chief of operations for the Joint⁷ Chiefs of Staff, Lieutenant⁸ General Douglas Lute⁹, said the safety provided in the Pakistani border areas is a key to the Taleban's recent resurgence¹⁰, and to its plans for the future.

"The relative sanctuary¹¹ for especially Taleban senior leadership in Pakistan today in the border regions of Pakistan is a major factor in the ability of the Taliban to be resurgent and probably quite active militarily this spring in Afghanistan," he said.  "There's no question that that sanctuary exists, and that it's a major asset for the Taleban."

The defense officials said Pakistan's government and military have been trying to get control of the remote and rugged¹² border region.  They also noted that no Pakistani government or outside force has ever fully¹³ controlled that area, or its independently minded tribes.

The committee chairman, Senator Carl Levin, was not satisfied, and said Pakistan has not even recognized that its agreement with tribal leaders has failed.

"We ought to press Pakistan for at least an acknowledgment that the deal that they made has not worked out.  In fact, quite the opposite," he said.

 
Pakistani army soldiers patrol a street in Miranshah, the main North Waziristan town along Pakistan-Afghanistan border, 17 Feb 2007
The committee's former chairman, now senior Republican Party member John Warner, offered some defense of the Pakistani government of President Pervez Musharraf.

"I think under the leadership of Musharraf they're doing the best they can, but the realities are there's a fragility in the political system in Pakistan," he explained.

Senator Warner said the situation would be much worse for the United States and its allies if Islamists came to power in Pakistan.

Senators also asked the defense officials about Iran's role in Afghanistan.  The Under Secretary for Policy, Eric Edelman, noted that Iran has diplomatic relations with the new Afghan government, and has been helpful on some issues.  But he also said Iran maintains ties with some of the government's opponents and has its own goals for Afghanistan.

"They [Iran] would like to see us out and an Afghan government more beholden to them and more subject to their influence," he added.

The defense department has accused Iranian operatives of helping¹⁴ insurgents¹⁵ in Iraq, and providing them with high-technology explosives.  But the officials said Thursday they have no such claim to make regarding Iranian activity in Afghanistan.

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 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。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 infiltration   

n.渗透；下渗；渗滤；入渗

参考例句：

• The police tried to prevent infiltration by drug traffickers. 警方尽力阻止毒品走私分子的潜入。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A loss in volume will occur if infiltration takes place. 如果发生了渗润作用，水量就会减少。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 lute   

n.琵琶，鲁特琴

参考例句：

• He idly plucked the strings of the lute.他漫不经心地拨弄着鲁特琴的琴弦。
• He knows how to play the Chinese lute.他会弹琵琶。

10 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

11 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。

12 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。

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 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