VOA标准英语2011--US-Pakistan Joint Raid Viewed as Rare, H

US-Pakistan Joint¹ Raid Viewed as Rare, Hopeful Sign for Troubled Ties

Ties between the intelligence agencies of Pakistan and the United States have been severely² strained since the killing³ of Osama bin⁴ Laden⁵ in a covert⁶ U.S. raid in Pakistan in May.
Both sides have attempted to play down the tensions through public statements, but the expulsion of American security personnel by Pakistan and the suspension of some U.S. military assistance have highlighted the distrust on both sides.
In an interview with VOA, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter acknowledges that the bin Laden raid was a setback⁷ for bilateral⁸ ties.
“I think in the wake of what happened on May 2, there was a great deal of consternation⁹ on the side of Pakistan because of the issue of the sovereignty, the questions that were raised," Munter said. "There were questions that were raised in the United States because people did not know whether there was a role of Pakistani authorities in him being here. This was a source of great amount of unhappiness on both sides because there were questions that could not be answered."
But after months of their tense relationship playing out in public, this week the Pakistani military made a rare public acknowledgement that U.S. agents provided key information that helped them plan the successful raid that captured senior al-Qaida planner, Younis al-Mauritani, along with two aides.
Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the authorities watched the group for months.
“We have been on alert we have been following the case since last October when it was surfaced that there is a group which will pose threat to the outside world, " said Abbas. "We have been connecting dots and therefore when we found out that they are there in the suburbs of Quetta then we conducted this raid.”
The announcement is a sign the relationship is getting back on track, said Hassan Askari Rizvi, a former head of the political science department at Punjab University.
“This shows that the two agencies are now cooperating, and they need to do that because that is how they can produce results," he said. "Hopefully there will be continued cooperation and they will be able to overcome the differences that had developed between the two authorities.”
The Pakistani military says al-Qaida leader al-Mauritani was mainly responsible for the network’s international operations and was suspected of planning attacks on important American economic interests, including oil pipelines¹⁰.
Officials have identified the other two detainees as senior operatives Abdul Ghaffar al-Shami and Messara al-Shami.
Although the arrests may help ongoing¹¹ negotiations¹² between the two sides on how to conduct future joint-operations, professor Askari Rizvi points out that important disagreements remain.
“They still diverge¹³ on certain matters whether to take action in North Waziristan and also on the issue of presence of American intelligence and security personnel in Pakistan.”
Pakistan has resisted U.S. pressure to mobilize its forces against militants¹⁵ of the Haqqani network based in North Waziristan border region. The militants are believed to be launching cross-border raids on U.S. and allied¹⁶ forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistani military authorities also have objected to the presence of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency operatives gathering¹⁷ intelligence about militant¹⁴ groups inside Pakistan.
In Washington, U.S. officials have long maintained that elements within the Pakistani spy agency have links to Taliban and al-Qaida associates. The allegation is rejected by Pakistani authorities.
But over the past decade the Pakistani agency has dispelled¹⁸ those suspicions by arresting dozens of senior al-Qaida operatives, said former Pakistani intelligence brigadier Asad Munir.
“All those people have been caught by the ISI with the support of CIA, so they have been working together. They have to have good relations. If there is mistrust it is directly going to affect the war on terror and if they cannot work together the [Afghan] exit strategy of [President] Obama I don’t think that it will be materialized," he said.
President Barack Obama plans to withdraw all American combat forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. U.S. officials admit they need Pakistan’s support to ensure there is a smooth transition of security responsibilities to Afghan forces.
U.S. Ambassador Munter expects the two countries will be able to re-establish their anti-terror cooperation to where it was before the bin Laden operation.
“Even though there may be a broad question, conceptually, where are we going, and what is the relationship, the body of the relationship is there and will remain there and I am optimistic that we are going to make a lot of progress in the years to come," Munter said.
U.S. intelligence officials have said in recent weeks that the death of al Qaida’s chief Osama bin Laden, followed by the killing or capture of other top lieutenants¹⁹ have dealt a serious blow to the terrorist network.
But they have given no indication of scaling back U.S. drone strikes, which remain highly controversial in Pakistan and a continuing source of tension between the two governments.

1 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。

2 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 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。

4 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

5 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

6 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

7 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

8 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

9 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

10 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

11 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

12 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

13 diverge   

v.分叉，分歧，离题，使...岔开，使转向

参考例句：

• This is where our opinions diverge from each other.这就是我们意见产生分歧之处。
• Don't diverge in your speech.发言不要离题。

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。

17 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

18 dispelled   

v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His speech dispelled any fears about his health. 他的发言消除了人们对他身体健康的担心。
• The sun soon dispelled the thick fog. 太阳很快驱散了浓雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 lieutenants   

n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员

参考例句：

• In the army, lieutenants are subordinate to captains. 在陆军中，中尉是上尉的下级。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lieutenants now cap at 1.5 from 1. Recon at 1. 中尉现在由1人口增加的1.5人口。侦查小组成员为1人口。 来自互联网