VOA常速英语2008年-Report Faults US Counterterrorism Efforts in Pa

By Gary Thomas
Washington
18 April 2008

A new report by U.S. government auditors¹ has sharply criticized U.S. counterterrorism planning for Pakistan. The report says the United States has failed to produce a comprehensive plan to wipe out terrorist safe havens² in Pakistan's rugged³ tribal⁴ areas along the Afghan border.  As VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, the report comes as a new civilian⁵ government in Pakistan debates its own approach to fighting Islamic extremism and its relationship with Washington.

In a 33-page report, the General Accountability Office (GAO) says not only has the United States failed to meet its goal of eradicating⁶ terrorist safe havens in Pakistan's tribal regions, but also lacks a grand strategy for doing so.

The Bush Administration laid out a plan for a national counterterrorism strategy in 2003, and Congress passed legislation to implement⁷ it last year.

Charles Johnson, a GAO counterterrorism expert and chief author of the report, tells VOA that while different agencies have devised individual plans aimed at the Pakistani tribal areas, a comprehensive, coordinated⁸ plan is still lacking. He says the agencies, such as the CIA, State Department, Defense⁹ Department, and the National Counterterrorism Center, have not come together to thrash out a unified¹⁰ plan.

"It is our understanding that the parties have not yet sat down at the table and reached agreement on the final plan," he said.  "We do understand that there is some effort underway now with respect to the various entities¹¹ that we have mentioned to sort of begin that process and to reach some sort of agreement on where the plan is needed in terms of moving forward. However, we are concerned because we have not seen such a plan." 

The report says nearly $6 billion of the $10.5 billion the U.S. has given Pakistan since 2002 is reimbursement¹² for Pakistani military operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.  But U.S. officials say al-Qaida has regenerated¹³ in the safety of the tribal lands.

Asked about the GAO findings, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said it is clear that more work needs to be done in the Pakistani tribal areas.

"There is no question there is more to be done in that region," he said.  "I think everyone who has spoken to that issue of the border has talked about what a difficult challenge it is.  We have more work to there and we need to do it."

U.S. counterterrorism and intelligence officials who were contacted declined to comment on the report. 

Robert Grenier, a former CIA counterterrorism chief and onetime station chief in Islamabad, says he is not surprised at the lack of progress on a coordinated plan.

"That is the same situation that we have confronting us in Afghanistan, where we've had an interagency effort since shortly after 9/11, and everybody is still working with their own furrow¹⁴, working within their own stovepipes - to use militaryspeak - so I am not at all surprised that we should see the same problems manifested in a far more nascent¹⁵ program, under far more difficult conditions, in Pakistan," he said.

The report comes as Pakistan is making the transition from military rule to an elected civilian government.  The new government has indicated it will seek a negotiated accommodation with Islamists who are not foreign al-Qaida fighters.

Christine Fair, a Pakistan affairs analyst¹⁶ at the RAND Corporation, says the political change adds potential complications to a comprehensive U.S. counterterrorism strategy in Pakistan because many Pakistanis are not happy about U.S.-Pakistani cooperation.

"Most Pakistanis don't believe it's their war," she explained.  "They believe that they're fighting America's war.  Increasingly, you find elites¹⁷ who don't share that view.  So the political angle on this is really quite complicated, because the vast majority of Pakistanis are really tired of their armed forces being used to kill their own people."

Democratic Congressman¹⁸ Howard Berman, who commissioned the GAO report, called the findings "appalling¹⁹" and said he will schedule hearings for next month on the matter.

1 auditors   

n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生

参考例句：

• The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
• a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议

2 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 eradicating   

摧毁，完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the acute and chronic toxicity of Ten-flavor-acne eradicating-capsule. 目的：探讨复方中药合剂十味平痤胶囊的急性及慢性毒性。
• We are on the verge of eradicating polio in the world. 我们已在世界消除小儿？痹症的边缘了。

7 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

8 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

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 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

11 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

12 reimbursement   

n.偿还，退还

参考例句：

• He received reimbursement for his travel expenses.由于出差的花费他可以得到公司的补偿。
• Which forms do I need to complete for my travel reimbursement?我需要填什么表来报我的旅费？

13 regenerated   

v.新生，再生( regenerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They are regarded as being enveloped in regenerated gneisses. 它们被认为包围在再生的片麻岩之中。 来自辞典例句
• The party soon regenerated under her leadership. 该党在她的领导下很快焕然一新。 来自辞典例句

14 furrow   

n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹

参考例句：

• The tractor has make deep furrow in the loose sand.拖拉机在松软的沙土上留下了深深的车辙。
• Mei did not weep.She only bit her lips,and the furrow in her brow deepened.梅埋下头，她咬了咬嘴唇皮，额上的皱纹显得更深了。

15 nascent   

adj.初生的，发生中的

参考例句：

• That slim book showed the Chinese intelligentsia and the nascent working class.那本小册子讲述了中国的知识界和新兴的工人阶级。
• Despite a nascent democracy movement,there's little traction for direct suffrage.尽管有过一次新生的民主运动，但几乎不会带来直接选举。

16 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。

17 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

18 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

19 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。