VOA标准英语2009年-US Officials Say Conditions Will Deter

In a second day of testimony¹ on Capitol Hill, key Obama administration officials said Thursday that the July 2011 date President Barack Obama set for beginning a drawdown of U.S. forces from Afghanistan will depend on the progress made.

Dan Robinson | Capitol Hill 03 December 2009

From left: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense² Secretary Robert Gates, and the Chairman of the Joint³ Chiefs of Staff Navy Admiral Michael Mullen testifying in Congress, 02 Dec 2009

"It is not an arbitrary date. It is the third summer, if you will, that the [U.S.] Marines will be in [Afghanistan's southern] Helmand [province]," Admiral Mullen said.

In a second day of testimony on Capitol Hill, key Obama administration officials said Thursday that the July 2011 date President Barack Obama set for beginning a drawdown of U.S. forces from Afghanistan will depend on the progress made.  Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and military Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen testified before two congressional panels.

In his Tuesday night speech, President Obama stressed the need to give Afghanistan's government, army and police time to build up their ability to defend against Taliban advances.

The top officials who will implement⁴ that strategy say they believe the president is sincere in his intention to stick to the July 2011 date.

But they also say that conditions - including security in key provinces, the pace of training and equipping Afghan forces, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai's ability to eliminate corruption⁵ and restore credibility - will determine how rapidly a U.S. withdrawal⁶ occurs.

Reminding lawmakers that he has always opposed strict deadlines for completing U.S. troop withdrawals⁷, Secretary Gates offered this interpretation⁸ of the president's thinking.

"The date of July 2011 to begin thinning our forces and transitioning the security responsibilities to the Afghans is a firm date that the president has established," Gates said. "But the pace of that draw down, the location of the drawdown and so on will be conditions-based, and to use his words, a 'responsible draw down' as we have done in Iraq."

Gates again described the process as sending two major messages - one, an ongoing⁹ U.S. commitment symbolized¹⁰ up by the deployment¹¹ of 30,000 more U.S. troops; the other, a signal of urgency with a date by which Afghans must begin shouldering more security responsibilities.

Admiral Mullen dismissed suggestions by critics that July 2011 was chosen arbitrarily.  He said, it is a target that U.S. commanders and war planners reached, based on assessments¹² of conditions on the ground.

"It is not an arbitrary date.  It is the third summer, if you will, that the [U.S.] Marines will be in [Afghanistan's southern] Helmand [province]," Mullen said. "And we will have a clear indication from three seasons, if you will, of the heart of the fighting season there, which way this is going."

Admiral Mullen and Secretaries Gates and Clinton faced tough questions from lawmakers on the Senate and House Armed Services Committees.

Saying he does not see a comprehensive policy for Afghanistan or a clear Pakistan strategy, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez had this exchange with Secretary Clinton:

"Can any of you tell this committee that, in fact, after July 2011, we won't have tens of thousands of troops [in Afghanistan] for years after that date?" asked Senator Menendez.
 
"Well Senator, I can tell you what the intention is, and the intention is . . ." Secretart if State Hillary Clinton responded.

"Madame Secretary, I don't want to hear what the intention is," Menendez interrupted.  "I want to know can you tell the committee that there won't be tens of thousands troops after July 2011 for years after that?"

Clinton then described what she called a "convergence" between U.S. objectives and statements by President Karzai that Afghans will be able to shoulder security responsibilities in key areas within three years, and within five years for the entire country.

All three officials said that the actual number of U.S. troops to be sent to Afghanistan in the coming months would likely be higher than 30,000, when support forces are taken into account.

Admiral Mullen said the military and the administration will conduct a major review in about one year to assess what changes might be needed.

Republicans lawmakers such as Senator Johnny Isakson questioned President Obama's decision to set a date for beginning the withdrawal process, saying it provides an advantage to al-Qaida and the Taliban.

"This July 2011 date, if they interpret it as an end game for us, it gives them some opportunity," Isakson said.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrat¹³ John Kerry said that Pakistan must be the real focus of U.S. concerns, while Republican Senator Richard Lugar questioned what the Obama administration is doing to ensure Pakistan's cooperation as part of President Obama's overall strategy.

"We have largely expelled al-Qaida from Afghanistan.  Today, it is the presence of al-Qaida in Pakistan - its direct ties to and support from the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the perils¹⁴ of an unstable¹⁵ nuclear-armed Pakistan that drive our mission," Senator John Kerry said.

"On one side, we are going to [put] in place additional troops dealing¹⁶ with these 11 provinces in Afghanistan.  But what is not clear is precisely¹⁷ what is going to happen in Pakistan in this alliance of the two of us - the U.S. and Pakistan in this case," noted¹⁸ Senator Richard Lugar.

During the House Armed Services Committee hearing, Democrat John Spratt questioned the true cost of the troop buildup, now estimated to be
between $30 billion and $35 billion.

The Obama administration is expected to send a supplemental request to Congress for additional funds to support operations in Afghanistan.  This would include military needs and money to pay for the civilian¹⁹ component²⁰ of the president's plan.

 

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 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。

3 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。

4 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

5 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。

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 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

8 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 symbolized   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• For Tigress, Joy symbolized the best a woman could expect from life. 在她看，小福子就足代表女人所应有的享受。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• A car symbolized distinction and achievement, and he was proud. 汽车象征着荣誉和成功，所以他很自豪。 来自辞典例句

11 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

12 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

13 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

14 perils   

极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）

参考例句：

• The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
• With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？

15 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

16 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

17 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

18 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

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 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。