VOA标准英语10月-Afghanistan, Pakistan, US Military Forces Coopera

Mutual¹ distrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan has hampered² efforts to combat terrorism along their common border. That has led to calls for joint³ patrols, along with international troops. While that has yet to happen, Afghan and Pakistani soldiers, along with U.S. forces, are working and living alongside each other in a new military facility in the Khyber Pass on the Afghan side of the border. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman was given a rare look inside the first Joint Border Coordination⁴ Center and files this report.
　

An Afghan checkpoint on the border with Pakistan

It is one of the world's most strategically important and porous⁵ borders. Smugglers and terrorists can cross it at more than 250 points - some in rugged⁶ mountainous terrain⁷, virtually impossible for Afghanistan or Pakistan to adequately monitor.

This lawless area, for years, has been home to al-Qaida, Taliban and other insurgents⁸ intent on undermining the governments on both sides of the border, as well as attacking the 70,000 international troops in Afghanistan.

In order to coordinate⁹ efforts to patrol the region and fight terrorism, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States have established the first of six planned border coordination centers.

The first center, along the fabled¹⁰ Khyber Pass on the Afghan side of the border, opened in late March. Here, Afghan, Pakistani and American forces work, live and eat together. They communicate in English, Dari and Pashto with the help of interpreters.
　

Afghan Army Brigadier General Abdul Rahim Faizi

Afghan Army Brigadier General Abdul Rahim Faizi says this allows soldiers from the three countries to gain mutual understanding by working side-by-side.

General Faizi says, those working together in the coordination center can achieve more accurate aerial and artillery¹¹ targeting of the common enemy.

U.S. Army Brigadier General Mark Milley explains that this first center is helping¹² to overcome problems that resulted from lack of coordination along the border, including friendly-fire incidents.

"It coordinates¹³ activities between Pakistan, the Afghan national security forces, ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] Regional Command-East forces along the border, in order to prevent them from having incidents of conflict between each other and in order to focus their efforts against the enemy."
For too long, the area has been a virtual no-man's land and disagreements remain on precise national boundaries.

Afghan Brigadier General Faizi says the initial coordination center in the Khyber Pass is meant to reverse the natural advantage the enemy has enjoyed.

General Faizi says the very difficult terrain has allowed terrorists to cross back and forth¹⁴ without detection. But the tripartite center allows coordination with local community sources, giving the armies the ability to respond immediately against those with ill intent.

Each month, one-star generals from the three countries meet at the Khyber Pass to discuss how things are going and refine the process.

There are calls for the Afghans and Pakistanis to also work with the international coalition¹⁶ for joint patrols along the border.
　

U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Milley, right, with Pakistani Army officer at the Khyber Pass Coordination Center in Afghanistan

The U.S. Army's General Milley says the border coordination centers could be a first step in that direction.

"That may translate into joint military operations. It's hard to tell what direction that'll take and only time will tell. But that clearly is a possibility that the foundation of cooperation is being built."

Experts say that any of the armies acting¹⁷ alone would not be able to police the 2,500 kilometer long border.

General Milley says the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, and the Afghan and Pakistani militaries must fight the border battle together.

"This is a regional problem. This is a regional insurgency¹⁸. It straddles both sides of an international border," he said. "And in order to have ultimate success at the end of the day, whenever the end of the day is, it's going to require a very cooperative effort between both Afghanistan and Pakistan and ISAF on both sides of this border simultaneously¹⁹."

The vested interest for the U.S.-led coalition and the NATO forces is not only the immediate¹⁵ neighborhood. Intelligence analysts²⁰ say that by neutralizing²¹ insurgents along the border, they can prevent al-Qaida attacks in other parts of the world because the remote terrain remains²² a planning center and training ground for global terrorist missions.

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 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

3 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。

4 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。

5 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

6 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。

7 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

8 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

9 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

10 fabled   

adj.寓言中的，虚构的

参考例句：

• For the first week he never actually saw the fabled Jack. 第一周他实际上从没见到传说中的杰克。
• Aphrodite, the Greek goddness of love, is fabled to have been born of the foam of the sea. 希腊爱神阿美罗狄蒂据说是诞生于海浪泡沫之中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

12 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。

13 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 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。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

15 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。

16 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。

17 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

18 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

19 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

20 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

21 neutralizing   

v.使失效( neutralize的现在分词 )；抵消；中和；使（一个国家）中立化

参考例句：

• This juice-about a quart a day--pours into my duodenum, neutralizing acids. 这种消化液（每天约分泌1品脱）流入我的十二指肠，把酸中和了。 来自辞典例句
• AIM: To verify the role of a synthetic peptide in neutralizing endotoxins. 目的：检验一条合成肽在中和内毒素活性方面的作用。 来自互联网

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。