VOA标准英语2009年-Afghanistan Seeks to Control Own Desti

The ultimate goal for the US and its allies is to transfer security responsibilities to Afghan forces. But before that can happen, Afghanistan's government must effectively combat rampant¹ corruption² within its ranks.

Sean Maroney | Islamabad 17 December 2009

 
Photo: VOA Image
US soldiers hold a position in Afghanistan

 
In early 2009, Taliban insurgents³ controlled most of southern Afghanistan as well as the country's lucrative⁴ drug trade.

The U.S.-led coalition⁵ targeted suspected militant⁶ positions with increased air strikes.

Deadly cost

But the director of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross Pierre Kraehenbuhl said this strategy came with a deadly cost.

"The conflict is intensifying⁷, is affecting wider parts of Afghanistan, civilian⁸ casualties are significantly higher in numbers than a year ago," he noted⁹.

The air strikes caused a public backlash as reports of civilian casualties rose.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said civilian deaths were a main source of instability in his country.

In response, the U.S. and its NATO allies tightened¹⁰ the rules of engagement to limit civilian casualties.

Cautious approach

Washington's top military commander, Admiral Mike Mullen, tells VOA that using more caution when launching attacks on militants¹¹ will be better for the coalition in the long run.

"Every time you kill an Afghan civilian - man, woman or child - you have a strategic failure," he explained.  "And you can pile up all these tactical success, but you're also piling up strategic failure, and eventually, your mission fails."

New strategy

In late March, U.S. President Barack Obama announced a new focus on Afghanistan.

 

US President Barack Obama

"For three years, our commanders have been clear about the resources they need for training. Those resources have been denied because of the war in Iraq," explained President Obama.  "Now, that will change."

Mr. Obama ordered thousands of more U.S. troops to the country.  Later on, he also changed the top military leadership there to U.S. General Stanley McChrystal with the explicit¹² order to minimize civilian casualties.

As Afghanistan's security situation worsened, the country's political stability continued to crumble¹³.  President Karzai's term was scheduled to end in May, but the Afghan government delayed the vote until the end of August in hopes that the security situation would improve.

Insurgency¹⁴ intensifies¹⁵

The Taliban intensified¹⁶ its insurgency in an effort to disrupt the presidential election.  But on August 20, millions of Afghans went to the polls despite the violence.

In the months that followed, international election observers declared that widespread fraud had marred¹⁷ the vote, with most of it benefiting President Karzai.  Afghan officials called for a runoff between Mr. Karzai and his top challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

But Abdullah withdrew just days before the election, saying he did not think the vote would be fair.  In early November, Afghan election officials declared Mr. Karzai the winner by default.

 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai

Deadliest year

Since the fall of the Taliban eight years ago, 2009 has been the deadliest year for international forces in Afghanistan.  President Karzai says he hopes that by the end of his new five-year term, Afghan forces will lead all security operations in the country.

Following Mr. Karzai's declaration, U.S. President Barack Obama announced an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan and requested that NATO countries also send more troops.

"Taken together, these additional American and international troops will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces, and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011," said President Obama.

Corruption - big problem

Kabul-based political analyst¹⁸ Akmal Dawi says corruption in Afghanistan's government, and the lack of resources and training for its forces, will require the coalition to stay longer.

"To be realistic in terms of the challenges this country has been facing, 10 to 15 years will be a realistic timeframe for Afghanistan to defend itself without the international support," he noted.

How long will US remain?

And President Karzai says his country will not be able to sustain its forces alone for another 15 to 20 years.

"We hope that the international community, in particular the United States as our first ally will help Afghanistan to reach the ability in terms of its economic ability as well eventually to sustain the force that would protect Afghanistan with the right numbers and the right equipment," said President Karzai.
 
Mr. Karzai has vowed¹⁹ to more effectively combat corruption in the coming year and has started investigations²⁰ into a number of government officials.

Upcoming elections

But as Afghans prepare to vote in parliamentary elections in 2010, some observers are concerned that this poll could be more costly²¹ and convoluted²² than the presidential election.  Another fear is that Afghans simply will not go to the polls for fear of Taliban retribution or just general apathy²³.

But as the death tolls²⁴ for civilians²⁵ and troops in the country continue to rise, analysts²⁶ say the international community and Afghanistan cannot afford to be apathetic²⁷.
 

1 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。

2 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。

3 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

4 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

5 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。

6 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。

7 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

8 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。

9 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。

10 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

11 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

12 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

13 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

14 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

15 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

18 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

19 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

20 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

21 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

22 convoluted   

adj.旋绕的；复杂的

参考例句：

• The snake slithered through a convoluted path.蛇在羊肠小道上爬行。
• The policy is so convoluted even college presidents are confused.这项政策太令人费解，甚至连大学校长们也是一头雾水。

23 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

24 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

25 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。

26 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。

27 apathetic   

adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的

参考例句：

• I realised I was becoming increasingly depressed and apathetic.我意识到自己越来越消沉、越来越冷漠了。
• You won't succeed if you are apathetic.要是你冷淡，你就不能成功。