VOA常速英语2008年-Reported Missile Strike in Pakistan's Tribal Re

By Barry Newhouse
Islamabad
28 February 2008

Intelligence officials and witnesses in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal¹ area say an apparent missile strike has killed at least 13 people - several of whom appeared to be foreigners. Similar previous explosions have been attributed to U.S. pilotless drones firing missiles at suspected al-Qaida militants³. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad on the apparent strike and how Pakistan's emerging civilian⁴ government could affect such operations in the future.

The early morning blast occurred at a residence in Kalosha village in Pakistan's volatile⁵ tribal region near the Afghan border. Witnesses described an enormous explosion that rattled⁶ windows as far as 10 kilometers away.

Similar to previous explosions that are attributed to covert⁷ U.S. missile strikes on al-Qaida targets, Pakistani and American officials said they had no knowledge of the incident.

U.S. forces are officially barred from operating on Pakistani soil, but news media have reported that intelligence officials in both countries acknowledge there is a secret arrangement permitting U.S. missile strikes against al-Qaida targets in the tribal regions.

Last month, an explosion in North Waziristan killed Abu Laith al-Libi, a man considered to be a top aide to Osama bin⁸ Laden⁹.

In recent years pro-Taliban militants opposed to the U.S.-backed governments in Islamabad and Kabul have expanded their reach inside Pakistan and been blamed for a string of suicide bombings across the country. But many Pakistanis still oppose U.S. missile strikes in the tribal areas.

Talat Masood is a former Pakistani army general and a defense¹⁰ analyst¹¹ in Islamabad. He says such operations appear to undermine Pakistan's sovereignty, especially when bystanders are killed.

"So if innocent lives are lost then I think there is a lot of hue¹² and cry and that is very detrimental¹³ for the government and the anti-American sentiment then builds up on that," he said.

Some Pakistanis cited President Pervez Musharraf's close cooperation with the United States as one of the reasons they voted for opposition¹⁴ candidates in this month's national elections.

Masood says many people blame Pakistan's continuing violence on the country's role in the U.S.-backed war against terrorism.

"There is a very strong view within Pakistan and even among the military that this has been imposed on us and the conditions in the last five years have deteriorated¹⁵ primarily because we have been associated with the U.S., and we need to rethink this," he said.

Pakistani opposition politicians who swept to victory in the elections campaigned on changing how the country should deal with the worsening militancy¹⁶.

This week former prime minister, and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party, Nawaz Sharif said he told the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan that the way the war on terrorism has been fought has not been in the best interests of either country. He said not every problem is solved by using force - and if Pakistan can solve its problems with India through negotiations¹⁷, why can't it negotiate with its own people?

Mr. Sharif said the country's new civilian leaders - not the military - should be responsible for shaping this new policy.

U.S. officials have expressed worry that negotiations with militant² groups could provide the groups an opportunity to reorganize to stage more attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

6 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

7 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

8 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

9 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

10 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。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 hue   

n.色度；色调；样子

参考例句：

• The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
• The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

13 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

14 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。

15 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

16 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

17 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。