VOA标准英语2009-Anti-Taliban Campaign in Pakistan's Swat Val

Pakistan says the military is in the final phase of its campaign to expel Taliban militants² from northwestern Swat Valley and surrounding areas. But, there are no reports that government forces have killed or captured top Taliban leaders in the region.
　
Pakistanis displaced from Swat and Buner queue to get food relief in Yar Hussain camp in Swabi, 19 Jun 2009

The Pakistani army says all main areas in the region occupied by the militants have been cleared.

Army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas also told reporters Monday that Taliban command structures have been dismantled³ and their training centers and ammunition⁴ dumps have been destroyed. In addition, Abbas says government forces have reopened and secured strategic highway links between the northern part of Swat Valley and the west and have discovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition in the region.

But Abbas stopped short of declaring total victory in the nearly two month campaign against Taliban fighters in the area, saying some small areas of resistance remain. When a Pakistani journalist pointed⁵ out that the military has been reporting pockets of resistance in Swat Valley for the past month, Major-General Abbas sought to explain why:
　
Major General Athar Abbas (File photo)

"Please realize that the counter-insurgency operation - where you have to enforce the writ⁶ of the government - what was the extent of the writ lost by the government in that area," said General Abbas. "Please keep that in mind. We are getting into an area which, in our view, the government had completely lost the writ of authority. And therefore the operations sometimes in some areas is painfully slow. Because of the terrain⁷, because of the resistance, because of a lack of support and because of the lack of information."

Abbas also asked reporters to remember how many soldiers had lost their lives and how many had been wounded, saying that is the proof of progress.

The government also predicted that within a week, some of the estimated 2.5 million people displaced by the conflict will be able to return in large numbers. And the government says it is taking care of these people, having already distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in cash payments to those who were forced to flee.

Monday's progress report did not include the announcement of the capture or killing⁸ of any top Taliban leaders such as Sufi Mohammed, the radical⁹ cleric who negotiated the failed deal to impose strict Islamic law in Swat Valley. Nor was there news of the capture of killing of his son-in-law, Maulana Fazllulah, whose followers¹⁰ have fought fierce battles against the army in the region.

A former army lieutenant¹¹ general and defense¹² analyst¹³, Talat Masood, says until the military eliminates the Taliban leadership in Swat Valley, success against extremists will be elusive¹⁴.

"That is really the heart of the problem because they can always regroup and come back and keep on motivating people from the outside and be quite dangerous, in fact," said Talat Masood. "You know, directing it from different places. So we have get a hold of the leadership. It's very important."

In the meantime, the army is also pounding targets in nearby South Waziristan in preparation for a full-fledged assault on Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and his forces. And on Sunday, troops faced a flare¹⁵ up of militant¹ violence in North Waziristan. The army says militants unleashed¹⁶ a flurry of gunfire - followed by the detonation¹⁷ of improvised¹⁸ explosive devices - on a convoy¹⁹ of security forces. The army says 16 soldiers, including three officers, were killed along with 10 militants.

1 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。

2 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。

3 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

4 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

7 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

10 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

11 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

12 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。

13 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。

14 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

15 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

16 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 detonation   

n.爆炸；巨响

参考例句：

• A fearful detonation burst forth on the barricade.街垒传来一阵骇人的爆炸声。
• Within a few hundreds of microseconds,detonation is complete.在几百微秒之内，爆炸便完成了。

18 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

19 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。