VOA标准英语2008年-Afghanistan in Backward Slide, Analysts Say

Taliban attacks in Afghanistan rose sharply this year, underscoring the difficulty faced by the Afghan government and coalition¹ forces trying to stamp out the persistent² and deadly insurgency³. But just how serious a threat does the Taliban pose to the wobbly government of President Hamid Karzai, who is up for re-election next year. VOA Correspondent Gary Thomas looks at the situation in Afghanistan.

In a recent speech, the European Union's outgoing special representative to Afghanistan, Francesc Vendrell, said conditions there are the worst since 2001, when a U.S.-backed force deposed⁴ the Taliban government.
　
Afghan police officers inspect a damaged vehicle of Afghan provincial⁵ governor after an explosion in Paghman, Afghanistan, 13 Sep 2008

New York University Professor Barnett Rubin, a leading expert on Afghanistan, agrees. He says Afghans are beginning to despair about whether the U.S. and NATO troop presence will make a difference in their lives.

"Right now is the time when there is the least hope since the Taliban were overthrown⁶, the worst security, and the least belief by Afghans that actually this intervention⁷ is going to bring them a better future," said Rubin.

An Afghan expert at the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, Ken⁸ Katzman, agrees the security situation is bad.

"Everybody is agreed there is more violence, which started in mid-2006," he said. "No one is quite certain why it was so much less violent from 2001 until 2006. Maybe the Taliban had to regroup. Maybe they got their networks established in Pakistan and then they were able to make somewhat of a comeback starting in 2006. We are still seeing their effects."

But, Katzman adds, the news is not all gloomy. He says despite the security situation, there are signs of progress, particularly on the economic front.

"But we are seeing a tremendous amount of, at least, economic progress elsewhere - in the west, in the north, and even Regional Command-South, Helmand province," said Katzman.

Once thought to be effectively finished off, the Taliban-led insurgency is back in action, attacking coalition forces from safe havens⁹ across the border in Pakistan.
　
Adm. Michael Mullen (file photo)

The top-ranking U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, said last week the situation is difficult but still salvageable¹⁰. "I am not convinced we are winning it in Afghanistan. I am convinced we can," he said.

Barnett Rubin says the Taliban does not pose any immediate¹¹ direct threat to the government of President Hamid Karzai.

"The Taliban are not trying to militarily defeat the United States and NATO and march into Kabul," he said. "What they are doing is consolidating¹² their control over much of the country, showing the people that things are moving in their direction."

"And, at the same time, one of the purposes of spectacular terrorist acts and attacks in the capital in particular - of which I expect to see more in the next couple of months - is to also illustrate¹³ to the international community that they [the Taliban] are winning and that it is pointless to continue," he continued.

Rubin adds the security threat is compounded by ineffective governance and rampant¹⁴ corruption¹⁶. "As long as the international forces are there and the money is flowing, the government will probably not collapse¹⁷ or disappear," he said.

"But it could very well become increasingly corrupt¹⁵ and increasingly impotent. One of the effects of the growing expectation that the momentum¹⁸ is going in the direction of the Taliban is also an increase in corruption because people do not see any rational reason to obey rules or plan for a long-term future," he added.

The United Nations says civilian¹⁹ deaths from both Taliban attacks and airstrikes by U.S. and NATO forces have risen by 40 percent in the past year. The United States denies targeting civilians²⁰, and says any noncombatant deaths are inadvertent.

Nevertheless, analysts²¹ say, the civilian casualties are sowing bad feeling toward the United States and NATO forces, and putting President Karzai, a staunch U.S. ally, in an awkward position.

 

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

3 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

4 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

6 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

7 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

8 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

9 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

10 salvageable   

adj. 可抢救的(可打捞的)

参考例句：

• Tank wrecks found on maps are no longer salvageable. 地图上自带的坦克残骸将不能被轴心国工兵回收。
• Their marriage was not salvageable. 他们的婚姻已不可挽回。

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网

13 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

14 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

15 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

16 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

17 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。

18 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

19 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。

20 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。

21 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。