VOA标准英语2011--Fighting Still Rages in Afghanistan 10 Y

Fighting Still Rages in Afghanistan 10 Years After US-Led Invasion

The U.S. and other NATO forces on October 7, 2001 attacked al-Qaida extremists and their Taliban allies in Afghanistan, less than a month after the September 11 terrorist attacks. That military operation drove the Taliban from power. But the conflict that began so promisingly¹ 10 years ago is still going on - the longest war in U.S. history.
Unexpected resistance
Few expected the Taliban government in Afghanistan to fall as quickly as it did 10 years ago. But equally surprising, NATO forces are still fighting Taliban and al-Qaida insurgents³ 10 years later. It was in late 2001 that Afghan forces, aided by a U.S. bombing campaign, drove the Taliban from Kabul. But then Taliban and al-Qaida leaders fled into the mountains of Tora Bora, escaped into Pakistan and the fighting has raged ever since. Critics blame the escape on the lack of sufficient allied⁴ troops in the country - a criticism NATO itself recognizes.
"There were a number of mistakes that were made over the years, and definitely in the years before 2009," said General Carsten Jacobson, ISAF spokesman. "I would say the first one was to underestimate the Taliban because we were blinded by the success that we had in 2001 and 2002. We didn’t bring enough forces into the country."
Insufficient⁵ troops
Without enough allied troops to stop them, Taliban fighters began slipping back into Afghanistan and regaining⁶ territory. NATO forces could do little but hold on. In 2003, the U.S. also switched its attention to a new war - in Iraq.
That, too, ran into problems, after initial success, until U.S. forces adopted counter-insurgency⁷ tactics, sent more troops and began training local security forces, including former insurgents. That seemed to work. NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan took notice.
"Lessons were drawn⁸ out of Iraq," said General Jacobson. "The right lessons were drawn out of Iraq and basically it was becoming very clear by the end of 2008 and through 2009 that something had to be done to defeat the insurgency and in parallel to build up security forces."
Lessons learned
In addition, U.S. President Barack Obama shifted attention back to Afghanistan. More troops arrived in 2009.
And the build up of Afghan security forces also increased, coupled with an aggressive program using unmanned drone planes to strike at insurgent² havens⁹ in Pakistan's border region. In a visit to Afghanistan before stepping down as chairman of the U.S. Joint¹⁰ Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen had this to say:
"The enemies of Afghanistan and those who seek nothing more than to strike out against our coalition¹¹ have been dealt heavy blows over the last year," he said. "They’ve been pushed out of sanctuary¹². They’ve been denied influence over local populations. They’ve been hounded and they’ve been hunted. Their leaders killed or captured by the score."
Fragile success
But in the same speech, Mullen said those successes are fragile and could be reversed. The insurgents are now focusing on high profile attacks, car bombings and assassinations¹³. But there also are some efforts toward reaching a negotiated settlement.
"You don’t make peace with your friends, you make peace with your enemies," General Jacobson explained. "At the end of the day, peace has to be found with those who had a reason to take up the insurgency, to take up weapons and to fight the development of Afghanistan."
Several NATO nations with troops in Afghanistan plan to end their combat role there by 2014. Until then, the fighting continues and Afghanistan remains¹⁴ a nation at war.

1 promisingly   

（通常只是开头）给人以希望地，良好地

参考例句：

• The afternoon had begun so promisingly. 下午一开始就很顺利，就预示着成功。
• The first batch of wheat is growing promisingly! 头茬小麦的长势喜人呀！

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 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

4 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。

5 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

6 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

7 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

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 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

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。