VOA标准英语2010年-McChrystal: Afghan Security Deteriorat

The commander of coalition¹ and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, says the deterioration² of the security situation in the country, which he cited four months ago, has stopped.  The general says with the revised strategy President Barack Obama announced in December and more allied³ troops flowing in, there is an "inevitability⁴" about the Afghan and coalition effort to take the country back from the Taliban. 

General McChrystal got into some trouble last year when, in the midst of the Obama Administration's Afghanistan policy review he said the situation was deteriorating⁵ and the coalition risked failure if it did not send more troops.  Now, after several months of increasing focus on the security of the Afghan people and with an additional 30,000 U.S. and several thousand NATO troops beginning to flow in, he has a different view.

"I still will tell you that I believe the situation in Afghanistan is serious.  I do not say now that I think it's deteriorating.  I said that last summer and I believe that that was correct.  I feel differently now," he said.

General McChrystal emphasized that he does not believe the allied effort in Afghanistan has "turned a corner," and he said specifically the coalition is "not winning."  But he said it made "significant progress" last year and set the stage for even more progress this year.

Still, the general says he can not yet point to statistics to support his belief.  He says it is more of an "intuitive" feeling.

"I'm not prepared to draw it on a map.  I'm not prepared to give you numbers.  But I'm prepared to tell you that what I see and what I feel gives me that sense," he added.

General McChrystal says success in Afghanistan is something that is difficult to measure.

"This is all a war of perceptions.  This is not a physical war in terms of how many people you kill, how much ground you capture, how many bridges you blow up," he explained.  "This is all in the minds of the participants.  And I mean, the Afghan people are the most important, but the insurgents⁶ are another one.  You're just convincing people," said McChrystal.

And the general says that includes convincing coalition members and the Afghan security forces that their effort against the Taliban can succeed.

Earlier this week, the top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, said he believes the Taliban is still gaining ground in Afghanistan.  General McChrystal acknowledges the Taliban is making a major effort to expand its influence, but he says the coalition and the Afghan government are, too.  The general believes there is an "inevitability" about the coalition effort. 

As if to emphasize that point, he has made public his intention to launch a major offensive in Helmand Province soon.

"We're not interested in how many Taliban we kill.  We'd much rather have them see the inevitability that things are changing and just accept that," McChrystal said.  "And we think we can give them that opportunity.  And that's why.  It is a little unconventional to do it this way but I think it gives everybody a chance to think through what they're going to do before suddenly, in the dark of night, they're hit with an offensive," said the general.

He called 2010 an "exceptionally significant" year for Afghanistan, and said he needs more trainers and mentors⁷ for the country's growing security forces.  But he did not endorse⁸ a comment made earlier by the U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder, who called 2010 "the year of maximum effort," and indicated the need for coalition troops in Afghanistan should decline starting next year if the allies make an all-out effort this year.  Ambassador Daalder spoke⁹ as U.S. Defense¹⁰ Secretary Robert Gates was preparing to meet with his NATO counterparts here to discuss just that.

 

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 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。

3 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。

4 inevitability   

n.必然性

参考例句：

• Evolutionism is normally associated with a belief in the inevitability of progress. 进化主义通常和一种相信进步不可避免的看法相联系。
• It is the tide of the times, an inevitability of history. 这是时代的潮流，历史的必然。

5 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

6 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

7 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

8 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

9 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。

10 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。