Afghanistan, US Agree on Strategic Agreement

 　　Afghanistan and the United States have finalized¹ a strategic partnership² agreement outlining their relationship following the 2014 withdrawal³ of Western combat troops from the country.

　　A statement from Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office says the draft agreement was initialed Sunday by Afghan National Security Advisor⁴ Rangin Dadfar Spanta and U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker during a ceremony in Kabul.  The agreement is now ready to be signed by U.S. President Barack Obama and Mr. Karzai.

　　Spanta congratulated both countries and said the document provides "a strong foundation for the security of Afghanistan, the region and the world." He also said that he will brief the lower house of Afghanistan's parliament Monday on the content of the document, while Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasool will brief the parliament's upper chamber⁵.

　　A U.S. Embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall praised the draft agreement, saying it supports “an enduring partnership with Afghanistan that strengthens Afghan sovereignty, stability and prosperity" and that contributes to the shared goal of defeating al-Qaida and its extremist affiliates⁶.

　　U.S. officials say President Obama expects to sign the document before a NATO summit in Chicago next month.

　　Negotiations⁷ on the agreement saw progress recently after the U.S. agreed to Afghanistan's demand for full control over the U.S.-run Bagram prison and an end to controversial special forces night raids against Taliban insurgents⁸.

　　President Karzai had also said he wanted a written commitment of $2 billion a year from the United States after the withdrawal.

　　U.S. officials said they could pay up to about $4 billion a year to fund Afghan forces. But they also said the strategic pact⁹ is not meant to be a detailed¹⁰ aid package, but rather a broad framework committing both sides to continue to work together for years to come.

1 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

3 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

4 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

5 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

6 affiliates   

附属企业( affiliate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She affiliates with an academic society. 她是某学术团体的成员。
• For example, these security affiliates participated in the floating of 19,000,000,000 of issues in 1927. 例如，这些证券发行机构在1927年的流通证券中，就提供了一百九十亿美元的证券。

7 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。

8 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

9 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

10 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。