VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Encouraged By Allied Response

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she is encouraged by the response of American allies to the Obama administration's appeal for additional troops to supplement the boost in U.S. forces in Afghanistan

David Gollust | Brussels 03 December 2009

U.S. Hillary Clinton (file photo)

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she is encouraged by the response of American allies to the Obama administration's appeal for additional troops to supplement the boost in U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Clinton is in Brussels for meetings Friday with foreign ministers of NATO and other contributors to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, ISAF.

Clinton spent much of Wednesday and Thursday explaining President Obama's new Afghan policy to members of the U.S. Congress, and will do more of the same in Brussels with her counterparts from NATO and the other contributors to the 43-nation ISAF force.

Administration officials have said they hope the allies can supplement the United States pending¹ 30,000 troop increase in Afghanistan with an additional ten thousand troops of their own.

Initial indications from NATO are that the collective allied² increase may only be half that - perhaps five to seven thousand troops.

But Clinton, speaking to reporters on her plane bound for Brussels, said she had spoken to as many as 25 fellow foreign ministers in the last week and said she was encouraged by what was, overall, a positive response. "There's an understanding about the importance of the mission that the President has described. There is a desire to be able to explain it to the publics of various countries, and to make sure that in coalition³ governments the political stars are in alignment⁴ to be able to announce additional commitments. We feel good about it," she said.

Clinton suggested that because of the need in some cases for parliamentary approval for troop pledges,  announcements of new commitments may not come immediately.

She said she anticipated skeptical⁵ questioning in Brussels, much like that she and other top officials encountered in U.S. Congress, about the President's announcement of a July, 2011 target date for the beginning of a U.S. troop withdrawal⁶.

Citing misunderstandings about the withdrawal target, Clinton said the United States does not contemplate⁷ any precipitous action.  "Starting in 2011, we will be prepared for a responsible transfer of security responsibility to the Afghan security forces based on the conditions as we evaluate them at that time. Now, that doesn't mean we're going top get to 2011 and jump off a cliff. It means that we're going to be as careful and deliberative as necessary, but that we expect by 2011 to be able to pass off the responsibility for security to an improved, larger Afghan security force," she said.

Clinton said the training of Afghan forces, which she suggested had been a secondary priority during the Bush administration, will be stepped-up through what she termed partnering in combat.

In addition to multi-lateral meetings with NATO and ISAF contributing countries, Clinton has a series of bilateral⁸ meetings Friday with, among others, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in Brussels for a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council.

Clinton and Lavrov are expected to discuss the drive for an agreement this month on a new U.S.-Russia strategic arms reduction treaty, and Iran's defiant⁹ response to the International Atomic Energy Agency's recent censure¹⁰ of Tehran for concealing¹¹ its uranium enrichment plant near the city of Qom.

 

1 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

2 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。

3 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。

4 alignment   

n.队列；结盟，联合

参考例句：

• The church should have no political alignment.教会不应与政治结盟。
• Britain formed a close alignment with Egypt in the last century.英国在上个世纪与埃及结成了紧密的联盟。

5 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

6 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

7 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

8 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

9 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

10 censure   

v./n.责备；非难；责难

参考例句：

• You must not censure him until you know the whole story.在弄清全部事实真相前不要谴责他。
• His dishonest behaviour came under severe censure.他的不诚实行为受到了严厉指责。

11 concealing   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Despite his outward display of friendliness, I sensed he was concealing something. 尽管他表现得友善，我还是感觉到他有所隐瞒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• SHE WAS BREAKING THE COMPACT, AND CONCEALING IT FROM HIM. 她违反了他们之间的约定，还把他蒙在鼓里。 来自英汉文学 - 三万元遗产