NPR 2009-10-19

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel says President Obama will not commit any more American troops to Afghanistan until questions about that country’s government are resolved.

"Get a government that is seen as legitimate¹ to the people and has a credibility to be a partner in the effort to secure Afghanistan, so it's not a haven² for Al-Qaeda or other type of terrorists or international terrorist organizations." Emanuel was on CBS's "Face the Nation".

International pressure was growing on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to agree to a runoff if the UN-backed panel looking into election allegation fraud finds that he failed to win a majority votes in the initial round of balloting³ back in August. France’s Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says Karzai is ready to work with his main rival to resolve the crisis. Eleanor Beardsley reports.

During his brief visit to the Afghan capital, Kouchner met with both Karzai and his main rival, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. So far, both Karzai and Abdullah predict the results of the fraud probe would be in their favor. Kouchner urged the two men to accept the panel’s soon-to-be released findings, whatever they are. He said they agreed on the necessity to work together. For NPR News, I’m Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.

Pakistan’s army is pressing deeper into areas where Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants⁴ are entrenched⁵. Both sides are claiming to have inflicted⁶ heavy casualties on the second day of the government's ground offensive. From Islamabad, NPR’s Julie McCarthy has the story.

The army issued a statement, saying that Pakistani forces have killed 60 Taliban militants, while the Taliban says its fighters are resisting every step of the way, sending soldiers back to their bases. It is not possible to independently verify the conflicting claims because access is blocked to the battlefield and surrounding towns. The army says some 28,000 troops have been deployed⁷ against an insurgency⁸ that is estimated to run anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000. Defense⁹ analysts¹⁰ have questioned the proportion of government troops to insurgence¹¹ saying that the current ratio of some 2:1 should be more like 10:1. Civilians¹² caught between the army and militants continue to flee South Waziristan. Neighboring areas are filling up with the displaced from Pakistan’s latest offensive against extremists. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

The White House and Congressional leaders are working to blend five different committee versions of health care legislation into a compromise bill that can make it through both Houses of Congress. White House Advisor¹³ David Axelrod would not comment on what specific elements President Obama might or might not accept.

"Let's see what the final proposal says before we talk about what the president will or won’t sign. The president can sign a bill that will provide greater security for people who have insurance, that will help people don’t have it, get it and will lower the overall cost of health care and if it doesn’t meet those standards, then he won’t sign the bill." Axelrod was on ABC’s “This Week”. Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut says he still expects the final Senate version of the bills to include a government-run insurance option.

This is NPR News from Washington.

A suicide bomber¹⁴ detonated a blast that killed five senior commanders of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard and dozens of others in the restive¹⁵ region along Iran’s boarder with Pakistan today. The attack occurred as military commanders were getting ready to sit down with tribal¹⁶ leaders to discuss cooperation between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Iran’s President is pledging to retaliate¹⁷ for the attack.

A Colorado sheriff says he’s preparing to recommend a number of criminal charges in the case of the so-called "Balloon Boy" that captured the attention of the nation last week. NPR’s Allison Keyes has more.

Police and likely many others feared for the safety of six-year-old Falcon¹⁸ Heene when his parents claimed the child was inside a silver balloon shaped like a flying saucer. But now says Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden it is clear the incident was a hoax¹⁹.

"It was a publicity²⁰ stunt²¹ done with the hopes of marketing²² themselves for a reality television show at some point in the future." Alderden says the whole family was in on it, including the children "They were 100% involved and participants had guilty knowledge." Alderden says police developed a strategy that tricked the family into thinking their story was believed while investigators²³ got to the bottom of the case and investigation²⁴ into whether others were involved is ongoing²⁵. Alderden is recommending that felony charges be filed in the case. Allison Keyes, NPR News.

Hurricane Rick is churning its way toward Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula. Rick currently has sustained winds of 175 miles an hour. It’s expected to weaken significantly before making landfall by midweek. Still forecasters say the storm could retain enough strength to roll over the Peninsular and hit Mexico’s mainland with hurricane force winds.

1 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

2 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

6 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

7 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 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

9 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。

10 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。

11 insurgence   

n.起义；造反；暴动；叛乱

参考例句：

• US troops moved into the Afghan mountains in an offensive to stop Taliban insurgence. 美军日前进军阿富汗山区阻止塔利班组织的一次暴动。 来自互联网

12 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

13 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。

14 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

15 restive   

adj.不安宁的，不安静的

参考例句：

• The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
• The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。

16 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

17 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

18 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

19 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

20 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

21 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

22 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

23 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

25 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。