voa标准英语2008-Ethiopia's PM Declares 'Mission Accomplished' in

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has declared "mission accomplished¹" in Somalia, and told parliament Ethiopian troops will be home from their controversial two-year military mission within weeks. Mr. Meles also pledged Ethiopia would guarantee the safety of African Union peacekeepers in Somalia, should they choose to withdraw.
　 COLLAPSE⁸: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="15%" align="right" border="0">

Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi (File Photo)

The Ethiopian leader admitted it has been impossible to crush the Islamist extremist al-Shabab forces and establish a stable government in the two years since he dispatched troops to neighboring Somalia. But he said that was not Ethiopia's objective.

That, he said, is the job of the United Nations, which gave legitimacy² to Somalia's Transitional Federal Government; the African Union, which initially³ pledged to send 8,000 peacekeepers that he thought would quickly replace Ethiopian soldiers; and the international community.

But in answering questions in parliament, Mr. Meles said he was bringing the troops home confident they had accomplished the twin missions of preventing the establishment of a militant⁴ Islamic regime, and giving the international community time to intervene.

"Our main mission was to defuse the plan orchestrated by Eritrea, accompanied by al-Shabab, and anti-peace elements in Ethiopia, he said. "We have defused it in a way that it cannot come again. That is, if we feel there are signs it is coming back again, we can take action. We did that in the first two weeks. Our second mission was to give the international community and Somali peace forces time to accomplish their mission of bringing lasting⁵ peace to Somalia. We consider two years enough time. So we have accomplished both our missions. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to bring lasting peace to Somalia."
　

Ugandan AU peacekeepers in Mogadishu, (file photo)

Urgent efforts are underway to bolster⁶ the 3,400-member AU force known as AMISOM, and possibly transform it into a U.N. peacekeeping mission. If that fails, however, and the international community abandons Somalia, Mr. Meles said he has assured Burundi and Uganda, the two AMISOM troop contributors, that Ethiopia will guarantee safe departure of the peacekeepers.

"When we intervened in Somalia, there were forces that stood by our side," he saidi. "So when we think of withdrawing from Somalia, we also think about how those countries will withdraw their troops. When we withdraw, the Burundi and Uganda forces have told us that if we withdraw, they might like to withdraw. They have told us they would need our assistance to withdraw form Somalia. They say it would be better if we escort them first, then we withdraw."

AU Peace and Security Commissioner⁷ Ramtane Lamamra is in New York for talks with U.N. secretary-general and Security Council ambassadors about ways of preventing a collapse of Somalia's transitional government after Ethiopia leaves.

African Union diplomats⁹ in Addis Ababa said the international community is showing a heightened awareness¹⁰ of the severity of Somalia's crisis. The U.N. Security Council is said to be preparing a ministerial-level meeting on Somalia next week. The African Union Peace and Security Council will hold a similar session the following week.

Even so, diplomats said it would take months to replace the several-thousand Ethiopian troops who are going home, much less to bring the AMISOM force up to its authorized¹¹ strength of 8,000, or to transform it to a more robust¹² U.N. peacekeeping mission.

In what are seen as significant political developments, the leader of the opposition¹³ Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia returned to Mogadishu this week after a two-year absence, and the transitional government's parliament is assembling for a meeting Saturday aimed at affirming a power-sharing deal.

1 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

2 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

3 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

4 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

5 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

6 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

7 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

8 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

9 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

11 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

12 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。