VOA标准英语 Coalition Shifts Afghan Focus to South

One of the top American military commanders in Afghanistan said progress in the eastern part of the country is strong, but more effort is needed in the south, where Taliban forces have fought Afghan and coalition¹ troops to what he calls a "stalemate."
　
Major General Michael Tucker, chief of operations for U.S., NATO forces in Afghanistan

Speaking via satellite, the chief of operations for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Major General Michael Tucker, told reporters at the Pentagon 80 per cent of insurgent² attacks are now happening in what the military calls Regional Command South.

"In RC [Regional Command] South we're at a stalemate. We just simply do not have enough forces to address the needs of the people down there, to set the conditions for governance to take hold. And so, the enemy obviously is taking advantage of that posture³ that we're certainly going to be addressing here very shortly," he said.

General Tucker called southern Afghanistan the "center of gravity" for the Taliban. He said that is where most of the approximately 20,000 additional U.S. troops will go when they arrive in the coming months. The general said they will attack insurgent strongholds, and will also work closely with the Afghan government and its security forces to hold territory and begin to deliver services to the local people. He said fighting will likely increase as the U.S. troops arrive, the weather improves and the poppy harvest season ends.

He said there will also be an increased effort to control the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, using 51 new units of Afghan border police that are now being formed.

In contrast, General Tucker said progress made last year in eastern Afghanistan seems to be holding.

"We're approaching what you could actually cautiously term irreversible momentum⁴ in the East," he said.

He said that was achieved through a combination of military and civilian⁵ action, an approach he said will be replicated⁶ in the south as the additional U.S. troops arrive. He also said he expects a significant increase in the U.S. civilian presence this year to help with economic development projects and the building of government capacity at the local and national levels.

General Tucker also praised efforts by Pakistan's military to close insurgent safe havens⁷ on its side of the border. But he said more must be done.

"They are having an effect against the insurgency⁸ in northwest provinces. We think they could do better. We think they could probably do less focus on the Indian border and more focus on the border with Afghanistan to help stem the sanctuary⁹ that the insurgency enjoys there," he said.

General Tucker declined to say how long he thinks it will take to stabilize¹⁰ Afghanistan and hand over control to its government and security forces. But he said the military command has set what he called "some three-to-five-year objectives" for eliminating insurgent safe havens, fully¹¹ establishing the Afghan government's authority and enabling its security forces to take control of their country.

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 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

3 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

4 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。

5 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。

6 replicated   

复制( replicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 重复； 再造； 再生

参考例句：

• Later outplant the seedlings in a replicated permanent test plantation. 以后苗木出圃栽植成重复的永久性试验林。
• The phage has replicated and the donor cells have lysed. 噬菌体已复制和给体细胞已发生裂解。

7 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

8 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

9 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。

10 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。