VOA标准英语2009年-US Wants NATO Troops to Stay Longer in Afg

The Pentagon Tuesday called on NATO allies and other countries with troops in Afghanistan to maintain their current higher troop levels even after next week's presidential election.
　
ISAF soldiers patroling the outskirts¹ of Feyzabad, northern Afghanistan (file photo)

Several allied² countries have increased their troop presence in Afghanistan to help provide security for the election, and those troops are expected to go home once it is over.

But on Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell called on those countries to maintain the higher troop levels beyond the August 20 election day.

"It would certainly be our hope that when it comes time for these countries to reevaluate the departure dates of their troops that were sent over in large part to enhance security leading up to the elections that they would reconsider that decision and keep them there longer in the hopes of making a longer-term contribution to the security situation there,"
he said.

A Pentagon official estimated that allies added between 5,000 and 6,000 troops to help with election security, and said U.S. officials have been asking their counterparts in other countries to have the troops stay.

U.S. Defense³ Secretary Robert Gates and other senior officials have repeatedly urged allies to send more troops, and to eliminate restrictions⁴ on how their forces can be used. Currently, the Pentagon says the United States has 62,000 troops in Afghanistan and other countries have about 39,000 troops there, including the election surge. But many of the NATO troops are not allowed to engage in combat operations or even to operate in violent parts of the country.
　
Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal (file photo)

This week, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, told the Wall Street Journal Taliban forces are "a very aggressive enemy right now," and that his forces need "to stop their momentum⁵" and "initiative." The general described the effort as "hard work."

Several civilian⁶ experts General McChrystal invited to help with an assessment⁷ of the situation have said they recommended he ask for more U.S. troops. The current level is already nearly double what the United States had in Afghanistan last year, and some officials, including Secretary Gates, have expressed reluctance⁸ to send more. But Pentagon officials caution that the general's analysis is not finished and will not likely be made public until next month.

1 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

2 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 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。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 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。

6 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。

7 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

8 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。