VOA标准英语2009年-Afghanistan Troop Request Delivered

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
25 September 2009

The top U.S. military officer has received the eagerly awaited detailed¹ troop request from the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, as the Obama administration continues a top-level review of its strategy.

 
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of Joint² Chiefs of Staff (file photo)
 
A military official tells VOA the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, traveled to Germany Friday for an unannounced half-day meeting on a U.S. Air Base with the Afghanistan commander, General Stanley McChrystal.

The official, who spoke³ on condition of anonymity⁴, indicated Admiral Mullen had an idea what the request would be, but wanted to receive the official document in person and hear details directly from General McChrystal. The official could not say specifically how many troops the general wants.

Analysts⁵ have said the request could be in the range of 40,000 troops, on top of increases President Barack Obama authorized⁶ earlier in the year, which are moving the U.S. troop level to 68,000.

There has been tremendous interest in the impending⁷ request since General McChrystal's secret assessment⁸ of the Afghanistan situation was published Monday by The Washington Post. It paints a grim picture and says the allied⁹ mission could fail without more resources. The assessment has become part of a broad Afghanistan strategy review the president has ordered, involving senior civilian¹⁰ and military officials.
 
 
Geoff Morrell (file photo)
The Pentagon press secretary, Geoff Morrell,  and that the general would present a range of options, discuss the risks associated with each, and conclude with a specific recommendation. But he said it will not become part of the strategy review.

"Once he has it, he intends to hold on to it until such time as the president and his national security team are ready to consider it," said the press secretary.

Morrell said there is "no sense in complicating¹¹" the strategic review by inserting the troop request. 

The military official who spoke to VOA Friday said a sense of the "manpower needs" would be a component¹² of the strategy review, but that the goals of the Afghanistan mission and what approach will be used to achieve them is the focus of discussions for now. 

The strategy review is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, and to be followed by a decision on General McChrystal's troop request.

1 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

5 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。

6 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

7 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

8 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？

9 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。

10 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。

11 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

12 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。