VOA标准英语2008年-NATO Forces in Afghanistan Return Fire Towards

NATO forces in Afghanistan say they have fired on militant¹ positions inside Pakistan after coming under rocket attack. The border region has experienced a surge in violence in recent months, raising tensions among Afghan, U.S. and Pakistani officials over who is to blame. In an interview with VOA's Barry Newhouse in Rawalpindi, Pakistan's Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas says he would welcome more NATO forces patrolling the Afghan side of the border.

A NATO statement says troops in Afghanistan's Paktika province received multiple rocket attacks from militants² inside Pakistan, and responded with artillery³ and attack helicopters.

The incident took place near Pakistan's Waziristan region, a Taliban stronghold where locals have reported seeing more NATO troops along the border in recent days.

The troop movements have raised alarm within Pakistan and caused politicians to issue stern warnings against NATO incursions across the border. But Pakistan Army Spokesman Athar Abbas tells VOA that the troop movements are not what he called an "ominous⁴ buildup."

"The information from the other side was that this is a routine relief and rotation⁵ of the troops," said Athar Abbas. "They are replacing the units on the border and they are reinforcing some parts where they have received attacks from militants."

A NATO spokesman told VOA there is no abnormal buildup of troops in the region, but acknowledged increased activity because of the time of year and recent developments in the area.

Pakistan's army says it has around 60,000 security forces manning 1,000 posts along the 2,600-kilometer Afghan border. It says in Afghanistan, there are about 100 such security posts.

General Abbas says NATO forces have indicated they want to create more security posts along the border - a move he said the Pakistani military would welcome. But he insisted that NATO forces will not be allowed to operate in Pakistani territory.

Military analyst⁶ Talat Masood says that despite the growing power of pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan and the continuing inability of the civilian⁷ government to address the problem, the presence of foreign troops would make the situation more dangerous.

"The worst thing that would happen is that Pakistanis will start disowning this war and will start sympathizing more with the militants than the Americans or NATO," said Talat Masood.

Retired⁸ General Masood says the militancy⁹ problem must ultimately be addressed by Pakistan's own military and government. But he says the government has been unable to come up with a policy that is supported by the people.

　

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

5 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

6 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。

7 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。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 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。