VOA标准英语2008年-US Commander Says Taliban, al-Qaida Work Togeth

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
23 January 2008

A senior U.S. commander in Afghanistan says Taliban and al-Qaida forces in the Pakistan border area are turning their attention more toward Pakistan, and are working together to hit Pakistani forces. Major General David Rodriguez spoke¹ to reporters at the Pentagon Wednesday, and VOA's Al Pessin reports.

General Rodriguez says better security in his area of eastern Afghanistan, and increased turmoil² in nearby areas of Pakistan, have led Taliban and al-Qaida groups based in the border area to focus on Pakistan and work together more than in the past.

"Many of them, we have seen over the last year, are coordinating³ with each other more based on their short term goals, rather than their long term goals, which are not necessarily the same," he said. "So, I think that they will move to where the best opportunity is to get the highest payoff. Right not, that probably seems to be in Pakistan, based on what is going on in the last couple of months here."

Pakistan has experienced increased insurgent⁴ violence particularly in the Swat Valley, north of Islamabad.

"They are doing more coordination⁵ and more training off of everything from resources to intelligence and technical expertise⁶ and things like that, yes, that is shared a lot more than it has been in the past," said General Rodriguez.

General Rodriguez says the insurgent focus on Pakistan has contributed to a drop in infiltrations across the border into Afghanistan, and could mean the insurgents⁷ will not launch much of a spring offensive in Eastern Afghanistan this year.

General Rodriguez and other U.S. officials say the increase in attacks inside Pakistan is convincing Pakistani military leaders that they have to deal with the Taliban and al-Qaida threat, which had been seen as aimed mainly at Afghanistan.

General Rodriguez says Pakistani military officers are beginning to respond.

"They are working, for example, to develop a better capacity to do counterinsurgency operations, like many other nations are, because that has not been their forte⁸ and what they have been trained on as a major focus here, but they are adjusting their military now to do those things," he said.

The general says the United States is helping⁹ with coordination and information sharing, but no U.S. involvement inside Pakistan is being contemplated¹⁰.

Regarding his area of responsibility in northeastern Afghanistan, where security has improved over the last year, General Rodriguez says he expects several thousand more Afghan soldiers to be ready to join the fight in the coming months. He says he does not need any more U.S. or NATO combat troops, but he does need 800 trainers for the Afghan police. He hopes to get some of the one thousand U.S. marine¹¹ trainers whose deployment¹² to Afghanistan was announced last week.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

3 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

4 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

5 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

6 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

7 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

8 forte   

n.长处，擅长；adj.(音乐)强音的

参考例句：

• Her forte is playing the piano.她擅长弹钢琴。
• His forte is to show people around in the company.他最拿手的就是向大家介绍公司。

9 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。

10 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

11 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

12 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。