VOA常速英语2008年-US Presidential Nominating Process Complicated,

By Gary Thomas
Washington
07 February 2008

The United States is trying to get more help in fighting Islamic militants¹ in Afghanistan, but is running into resistance from reluctant allies. As VOA Correspondent Gary Thomas reports, insurgents² have ratcheted up the pressure on the Afghan government.

Separate recent studies by the Atlantic Council, the Center for the Study of the Presidency³, and the International Crisis Group come to same broad conclusion: the international community needs to commit more resources to Afghanistan and agree on a coherent strategy that would make Afghanistan strong enough to stand on its own.

The director of the International Security Program at the Atlantic Council, James Townsend, says the main burden falls on NATO.

"Our concern is that unless the international community gets better engaged, we are going to be in a situation where we are not going to see any forward progress, and in fact it could slip back. And that is where NATO comes in, and that is where NATO has got to be committed for the long term in terms of providing for that security," he said.

But, despite U.S. prodding⁴, some NATO countries are balking⁵ at the idea of sending more troops to Afghanistan and taking a more direct combat role. Analysts⁶ say some NATO countries are reluctant to put troops in troubled areas of Afghanistan for domestic political reasons. The Bush administration is not popular in some European countries.

Mark Schneider, senior vice⁷ president of the International Crisis Group, says the United States convinced European nations to commit troops to Afghanistan under the assumption that they would be only engaged in peacekeeping, not counterinsurgency.

"It was an inaccurate⁸ message for the reason that the U.S. assumed that the fighting part of the battle was ended with the departure of the Taliban. And it did not recognize that it needed to have a much larger footprint, if you will, that enabled the Afghan government to reach all parts of the country with services in a secure environment," he said.

But U.S. officials have been increasingly insistant that NATO countries live up to their troop committments in Afghanistan. Defense⁹ Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Europe Thursday he was disappointed some NATO members have not sent combat troops to Afghanistan, although he said he doesn't think there is a risk of failure.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who made a stop in Afghanistan Thursday, recently said the NATO mission will entail¹⁰ risks.

"Our populations need to understand that this is not a peacekeeping mission. This is a counterinsurgency fight, and that's different. The military aspects of this are equally important, the security aspects are equally important, with what to do in reconstruction¹¹ and in governance," she said.

Pakistani and Afghan Taliban Islamist militia¹², as well as al-Qaida fighters, have set up bases in Pakistan's rugged¹³ tribal¹⁴ areas along the border, where they have sympathy among the local populace. From these sanctuaries¹⁵ they launch attacks on U.S. and NATO forces. They also control swaths of territory in Afghanistan itself, and have even launched suicide attacks in the capital Kabul.

Pakistan has not been as vigorous in cleaning out Islamic militants' sanctuaries along the border as Washington would like. President Pervez Musharraf has insisted he is committed to fighting terrorism, and called on the international community to tone down its criticism.

"We are in the forefront of fighting terrorism and extremism. Our success is critical. We have to win because if we lose, I think it will have an impact on the region and the world, maybe in the streets of Europe. So therefore we have to be together and we have to reinforce each other, encourage each other, support each other, instead of criticizing and insinuating," he said.

But President Musharraf, who is under fire from both secular¹⁶ and religious political forces, has repeatedly differentiated¹⁷ between the Taliban and al-Qaida and on several occasions has sought accommodation with local pro-Taliban tribesman.

Larry Goodson, a professor of international security studies at the U.S. Army War College, expects there will be more Pakistan government attempts to strike peace deals with the Taliban, while going after the foreign fighters of al-Qaida, after the February 18 parliamentary elections.

"I think that after the election we may see some efforts to excise¹⁸ the cancer, if you will, and then deal with your own Pakistani Taliban in a gentler or more nuanced way, the problem being, of course, that all these groups and fellows have all these interconnections and ties on all sorts of levels. That means that realistically you cannot excise the cancer because they are all interconnected," he said.

Wednesday, a spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban announced a halt in attacks on Pakistani forces. It is not clear if the cease-fire is a unilateral action or the result of talks with the Pakistan government. Both the U.S. and Pakistan have accused the group's leader, Beitullah Masud, of orchestrating the assassination¹⁹ of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

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 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 prodding   

v.刺，戳( prod的现在分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳

参考例句：

• He needed no prodding. 他不用督促。
• The boy is prodding the animal with a needle. 那男孩正用一根针刺那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 balking   

n.慢行，阻行v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的现在分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He picked up a stone and let fly at the balking dog. 他捡起一块石头朝那狂吠的狗扔去。 来自互联网
• Democrats won't pass the plan without votes from rank-and-file Republicans andof-and-file Republicans were reportedly balking. 没有普通共和党议员的支持，民主党人无法通过这项方案——到周四晚间，据悉那些普通共和党人在阻挡（该计划）。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 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。

8 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

9 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。

10 entail   

vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要

参考例句：

• Such a decision would entail a huge political risk.这样的决定势必带来巨大的政治风险。
• This job would entail your learning how to use a computer.这工作将需要你学会怎样用计算机。

11 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。

12 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

13 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。

14 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。

15 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

16 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

17 differentiated   

区分，区别，辨别( differentiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 区别对待； 表明…间的差别，构成…间差别的特征

参考例句：

• The development of mouse kidney tubules requires two kinds of differentiated cells. 小鼠肾小管的发育需要有两种分化的细胞。
• In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上，大麦，苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。

18 excise   

n.(国产)货物税；vt.切除，删去

参考例句：

• I'll excise the patient's burnt areas.我去切除病人烧坏的部分。
• Jordan's free trade zone free of import duty,excise tax and all other taxes.约旦的自由贸易区免收进口税、国内货物税及其它一切税收。

19 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。