VOA标准英语2008年-Obama Says US Must Focus on Threats in Afghanis

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee¹ Barack Obama has repeated a call for more US troops and greater funding for Afghanistan as part of his plan to overhaul² America's war on terrorism. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington, Senator Obama spoke³ after meeting with Afghanistan's president in Kabul. Later, Obama has met the leader of Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah on the latest leg of his overseas tour.
　
Senator Barack Obama (l) meets with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, 20 Jul 2008

Barack Obama concluded a two-day visit to Afghanistan Sunday, the first major stop in a lengthy⁴ trip that will also take the senator to Iraq, Israel, Jordan and Europe. Before departing Kabul, he spoke on the CBS television network, which aired the interview on the US domestic program Face the Nation.

Obama said the government of President Hamid Karzai must do more to confront terrorist elements in Afghanistan, but said the United States also has a critical role to play.

"The situation is precarious⁵ and urgent here in Afghanistan, and I believe this has to be our central focus, the central front in our battle against terrorism," said Barack Obama.

The Illinois senator has been a harsh critic of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003, saying the true terrorist threat facing America is based, not in Baghdad, but in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan's northern regions.

"That global network is centered in this area, and I think one of the biggest mistakes we [the United States] have made, strategically, after 9/11 was to fail to finish the job here," he said. "We got distracted by Iraq. And now we have a chance to correct some of those errors."

A spokesman for the Karzai government says, during a private meeting with the Afghan leader, Obama expressed his commitment to supporting Afghanistan and to continue the war on terrorism "with vigor⁶."

In the CBS interview, Obama said, as president, he would boost US troop levels and US assistance to Afghanistan, and also increase aid to Pakistan.

Recent months have seen widespread reports of a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. But, speaking on Fox News Sunday, the Chairman of the Joint⁷ Chiefs of Staff, Michael Mullen, disputed any notion that Afghanistan is in danger of collapse⁸.

"I would say the progress is mixed there, but I am not concerned at all that we are losing in Afghanistan," said Admiral Mullen.

Obama's critics do not fault the senator for urging a stronger US troop presence in Afghanistan. But independent Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, who is backing Obama's Republican rival, Senator John McCain, says Obama is misguided in calling for a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq.

"You cannot choose, as Senator Obama seems to think, to lose in Iraq so you can win in Afghanistan," said Joseph Lieberman. "The reality is, if we had lost in Iraq, we would go to Afghanistan as losers."

Lieberman was speaking on Fox News Sunday.

Also appearing on the program was Democratic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, an Obama ally. Bayh said Obama has a proven track record of good judgment⁹ when it comes to Iraq that should give Americans confidence about his vision for Afghanistan.

"I think it is important to note that Barack Obama's judgment about these issues has been excellent from the beginning, the kind of judgment you would want from a commander-in-chief, and others are beginning to adopt his positions," said Evan Bayh. "We would not be discussing surges in Iraq or anything else if Barack had had his way. We would not have started that war to begin with."

Obama has said that setting a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq will provide added impetus¹⁰ for the country's fractured leadership to forge the national reconciliation¹¹ needed for long term stability. He has said America's military is already stretched thin and overburdened, and cannot undertake expanded operations in Afghanistan while fully¹² deployed¹³ in Iraq.

　

 

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

5 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

6 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

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 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。

11 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。