VOA标准英语2008年-US Defense Secretary in Afghanistan as Top Comm

As U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Kabul Tuesday, the top U.S. and NATO commander there said he needs well over 10,000 more troops, in addition to several thousand President Bush announced last week. The commander, Army General David McKiernan, also announced he has issued new orders, stressing the need to avoid civilian² casualties, in the wake of several controversial U.S. air strikes that have killed dozens of Afghan civilians³ in recent weeks. VOA's Al Pessin reports from Kabul.
　
Gen. David McKiernan (file photo)

General McKiernan told reporters at his headquarters here that he needs more troops, and not a temporary increase like the one that recently ended in Iraq. "I don't like to use the word 'surge' for Afghanistan because I think what we need are increased capabilities⁴ on a sustained basis," he said.

There are about 33,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan - up by nearly 50 percent in recent years - and President Bush announced a further increase of several thousand last week.

But the general says he needs more combat power and support elements that could easily add up to an additional 15,000 troops, putting the total at more than 50,000. He says senior officials at the Pentagon have confirmed the need.

"There is a brigade combat team that the decision has been made to send here," said General McKiernan. "There are an additional three brigades, ground maneuver⁵ brigade combat teams that are validated⁶ requirements."

General McKiernan says it is not a question of whether he will get the troops, but when. And he says that depends on how quickly U.S. troop levels can be reduced in Iraq, which he called a political decision. He says violence in Afghanistan is up 30 percent, compared to this time last year.

The general also stressed that improved governance and more international investment are needed to defeat the Taliban and other insurgents⁷ here. And he said there is one additional element.

"We're not going to have the right outcome in Afghanistan without some solution to the militant⁸ sanctuaries⁹ in the tribal¹⁰ areas in Pakistan," said General McKiernan.

McKiernan said Pakistan has taken more action recently, but it is too soon to assess the results.

As the general spoke¹¹, the Chairman of the U.S. Joint¹² Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, arrived in Pakistan on the latest of several visits to work with leaders there on the border security issue.

At the Kabul news conference, General McKiernan declined to comment on the special investigation¹³ he requested of an air strike in western Afghanistan that Afghan and United Nations officials say killed about 90 civilians. He said the review, being handled by a headquarters in the United States, should be completed within a couple of weeks.

An initial U.S. investigation said only a few civilians were killed. But General McKiernan said in the wake of that and several other incidents, he has issued a revised order to re-emphasize and tighten¹⁴ procedures on air strikes and other operations in civilian areas.

"We have reviewed and continue to review our procedures for application of lethal¹⁵ force," he said. "And I've issued, just revised, a tactical directive that tries to be very measured in how we apply lethal force."

General McKiernan said procedures are already "very measured" and include an advance assessment¹⁶ of potential civilian casualties and confirmation¹⁷ of the identity of the target. But he says that in a conflict like this, it is not possible to avoid all civilian casualties, particularly when troops are in combat and quick decisions need to be made.

"This is unfortunately not something that you can be accurate with all the time," the general. "There are going to be cases where, in the nature of an insurgency¹⁸, you're fighting an enemy that doesn't wear a uniform, that mixes in with the population, that fights largely from urban areas. There are times when there are going to be unintended consequences on the population."

He also said his forces are using smaller bombs, as U.S. air forces have been using in Iraq, to minimize what the military calls "collateral¹⁹ damage".

General McKiernan said the allied²⁰ effort in Afghanistan is "winning" in different ways in different areas. But he acknowledged there are few parts of the country where the effort is succeeding in all key ways, which he defined as security, governance and economic development.

Admiral Mullen recently said allied forces are not winning in Afghanistan, although they could with the right strategy and resources. General McKiernan would not provide any details of a possible new strategy for Afghanistan. He said he thinks the current strategy is right, but the resources need to be increased.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

6 validated   

v.证实( validate的过去式和过去分词 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Time validated our suspicion. 时间证实了我们的怀疑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The decade of history since 1927 had richly validated their thesis. 1927年以来的十年的历史，充分证明了他们的论点。 来自辞典例句

7 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

8 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。

9 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

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

15 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

16 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

17 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

18 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

19 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

20 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。