美国国家公共电台 NPR Pentagon Acknowledges Mistakes As It Briefs Families Of Troops Killed In Niger

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

In early October of last year, U.S. troops were ambushed¹ by Islamist extremists while on patrol³ in Niger. Four Americans and four Nigerian soldiers were killed in the fighting. The Pentagon hasn't said much about what happened that day until now. They finished an investigation⁴ and this week began briefing relatives of the troops killed in the ambush². We're going to hear now from one of those relatives. Will Wright's brother Dustin was a 29-year-old Army staff sergeant⁵ killed in the ambush. Will Wright, welcome to the program.

WILL WRIGHT: Thank you for having me - appreciate it.

SHAPIRO: Was this briefing experience for you a sense of closure or sadness? Did it make you angry? Can you sort of take us into the room, how that felt?

WRIGHT: It was enlightening⁶. It gave us a window into the preparation and processes that led to this event. It gave us clarity⁷ on some of the details. So it was helpful, and it was - brought closure to a lot of questions we had.

SHAPIRO: Can you give us an example?

WRIGHT: One question in particular I had was on the timelines and when other assets⁸ arrived as far as support - Nigerian forces, the French involvement. Airpower is a huge advantage for American military forces, and what I wanted to know and what our family was interested in - when were drones on station or in the area at the site of the attack? When did the French arrive? And they did answer our questions in the context⁹ of combat¹⁰. The response was quick. It was powerful, and it prevented the situation from getting much, much worse.

SHAPIRO: The report from the Pentagon said there were multiple failures at various levels. Is that consistent¹¹ with what the briefers told you when you met with them yesterday?

WRIGHT: It is. But out of respect for the families that haven't received their briefings yet, I'd like to avoid specifics and give them time to have their day to be briefed. And, you know, at a later date, we can address specifics.

SHAPIRO: Do you hold anyone responsible? Do you think there should be any discipline? Do you think there was something preventable here that somebody should be held accountable for?

WRIGHT: I don't hold any one individual responsible, but that does not mean there shouldn't be changes a turning of the page, so to speak. If you asked me to point to one thing that went wrong, well, as an NCO, a staff sergeant myself who's been in combat, I can tell you I may have made different decisions on the ground. But I wasn't there. And the main thing is what we do next. And if it's looking for heads to roll and punishing people, we're going to lose sight of the true issues that we have as a nation, and that's standing¹² behind our troops and being more engaged ourselves.

There is a very complacent¹³ attitude when it comes to American involvement in the world. We've been at war in this particular war for 17 years, and it's time for us to wake up. You know, we still have troops in danger. We still have places that are very hostile that we have soldiers there. And if they're going to be in those areas, they need to have our full support and our full attention because we sent them there.

SHAPIRO: Is there something specific that you would like people to remember your brother Dustin by?

WRIGHT: His heart, his passion, the way he loved others, he served others. And if you're one of his people, he'd give his life for you. And that's what he did. He gave his life to have his brothers know he'd never leave a fallen comrade. That's what I want him to be remembered for.

SHAPIRO: Will Wright, thank you for taking the time to talk with us today.

WRIGHT: Thank you.

SHAPIRO: His brother was Army Staff Sergeant Dustin Wright, who was killed in an operation in Niger last October.

1 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

3 patrol   

v.巡逻，巡查；n.巡逻，巡查，巡逻队

参考例句：

• They attacked two soldiers on patrol.他们袭击了两名正在巡逻的士兵。
• Policemen patrol the streets.警察在街上巡逻。

4 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。

5 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

6 enlightening   

a.有启迪作用的，使人感悟的

参考例句：

• I find what you say most enlightening. 你这一说，我心里头亮了。
• It is interesting and enlightening to consider the derivative of a vector. 这对研究矢量的导数来说是重要的，而且富有启发性。

7 clarity   

n.清澈，透明，明晰

参考例句：

• His writing has great clarity of style.他的写作风格清晰易懂。
• Mozart's music is characterized by its naivety and clarity.莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴兴清澈。

8 assets   

n.财产；资产

参考例句：

• We capitalized our assets to avoid bankruptcy.我们把资产转作资金以避免破产。

9 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。

10 combat   

n.战斗，斗争，格斗；vt.与...斗争，与...战斗

参考例句：

• The police are now using computers to help combat crime.警方现在使用电脑打击犯罪活动。
• A reporter interviewed the combat hero.记者访问了这位战斗英雄。

11 consistent   

adj.坚持的，一贯的，一致的，符合的

参考例句：

• He has been a consistent friend to the Chinese people.他是中国人民始终如一的朋友。
• His action is always consistent with his words.他始终言行一致。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。