VOA标准英语 Top US Commander says Sustained Commitment Needed in

The commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, General David Petraeus, told a congressional committee Wednesday that success in Afghanistan would require a sustained, substantial commitment. But some lawmakers expressed skepticism over how progress could be measured in Afghanistan and whether Pakistan is really committed to fighting extremists on its border with Afghanistan.
　
Gen. Petraeus (L), and Defense¹ Undersecretary for Policy Flournoy testify on Capitol Hill, 01 Apr 2009

General Petraeus cautioned that there would be no quick victory in Afghanistan. He said Islamic insurgents² are a growing threat not only to Afghanistan, but to neighboring Pakistan.

"The extremists that have established sanctuary³ in the rugged⁴ border areas not only contribute to the deterioration⁵ of security in eastern and southern Afghanistan, they also pose an ever more serious threat to Pakistan's very existence," Petraeus said.

Petraeus came to Capitol Hill to discuss the Obama administration's new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee the policy puts a priority on defeating al-Qaida and other terrorist groups and increases regional cooperation in that effort.

Committee Chairman Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, questioned whether progress in Afghanistan should depend on success being made in Pakistan.

"I do not agree with statements by some in the administration that we cannot make progress in Afghanistan without success on the Pakistan side of the border," Levin said. "We should not tie Afghanistan's future totally to the success of efforts in Pakistan or Pakistan's governmental decisions. I remain skeptical⁶ that Pakistan has the will or the capability⁷ to secure their border."

Petraeus said the Pakistani military has stepped up operations against insurgents, but said more needs to be done. He said Pakistani officials believe the threat of extremist groups has surpassed the threat posed by India.

"This begins with them embracing the idea that the biggest threat to their country's existence is the internal extremist threat rather than the threat to the east," Petraeus said. "That is a recognition that they have stated verbally. We have heard it privately⁸. We now need to help them operationalize that."

The hearing came just days after a deadly assault on a Pakistani police academy in Lahore. Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud claimed responsibility, saying it was in retaliation⁹ for missile attacks against fellow militants¹⁰ and Tuesday he threatened to attack Washington.

Petraeus said the threat is being taken seriously and intelligence analysts¹¹ are examining Taliban capabilities¹² to carry out such an attack.

Meanwhile, several lawmakers questioned why there are not clear benchmarks to gage¹³ whether the new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan is making progress.

Senator Susan Collins is a Maine Republican:

"How will we assess whether the new strategy is working? How will we know if we are winning?" Collins asked.

Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy said the administration is working to establish benchmarks, but decided¹⁴ to deploy¹⁵ more troops to the war to try to reverse momentum¹⁶ gained by insurgents.

"There was a sense of urgency that there was a need to go forward even as we were refining our metrics," Flournoy said.

About 17,000 additional combat and support troops are to be sent to Afghanistan, with 4,000 others to be deployed¹⁷ to help train the Afghan armed forces. The overall U.S. force level is to reach 59,000 by October.

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 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

3 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

4 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

5 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

6 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。

7 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

8 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

9 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 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。

12 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

13 gage   

n.标准尺寸，规格；量规，量表 [=gauge]

参考例句：

• Can you gage what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gage one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

16 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。

17 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。