美国国家公共电台 NPR Pentagon Questioned Over Blackout On War Zone Troop Numbers

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

In the past, if you wanted to know how many U.S. troops there were in war zones like Iraq or Afghanistan, you could find that information at a public Pentagon website that was updated every three months. But then, late last year, the Pentagon stopped posting those numbers for Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Now that is prompting questions on Capitol Hill. NPR's David Welna has the story.

DAVID WELNA, BYLINE¹: Before the Senate approved him last week to be the next commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Lieutenant² General Scott Miller³ got a tough question at his confirmation⁴ hearing. Rhode Island Democrat⁵ Jack⁶ Reed wanted to know why the flow of information about U.S. operations in Afghanistan has recently taken a nosedive.

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JACK REED: What's your view on the detail of information that should be released?

WELNA: Miller assured the Armed Services Committee's top Democrat that if confirmed, he'd be transparent⁷ with that panel.

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AUSTIN MILLER: As for details that are being - on hold, I need to - we'd need to go forward and understand why we're holding back that information.

WELNA: The Trump⁸ administration has been sending conflicting messages. Last August, Defense⁹ Secretary Jim Mattis assured reporters the Pentagon would be more transparent than it had been about reporting troop levels in Afghanistan.

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JIM MATTIS: Frankly¹⁰, I had to change the accounting¹¹ process because we couldn't figure out how many troops we had there. So believe me; I understand the problem. But once we know how many there are, hopefully, we've told you what - about what there is.

WELNA: The next week, President Trump essentially¹² said the opposite.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We will not talk about numbers of troops or our plans for further military activities.

WELNA: Trump added that America's enemies should never know its plans. But a week later, the director of the Joint¹³ Chiefs of Staff, Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie, reiterated¹⁴ Mattis' promise of greater transparency.

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KENNETH MCKENZIE: When I say transparent, I'm talking about accounting for force levels that include those forces that are temporarily deployed¹⁵. They will now be reported.

WELNA: And the next quarterly report of the Defense Manpower Data Center did have those numbers. But the force levels not just for Afghanistan, but for Iraq and Syria, as well, have been left out of all the updates since then. Readers are asked to direct any questions about those countries to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. That's where, after two weeks of unanswered queries¹⁶, I finally got this explanation for the omission¹⁷ of war zone troop levels from Pentagon spokesman Major Adrian Galloway.

ADRIAN RANKINE-GALLOWAY: We have to make sure that the American people know what their forces are doing, but we have to protect our forces, as well. And a part of that is making sure that we keep a handle on what information we release to the public in general.

WELNA: Five House Democrats¹⁸ wrote Secretary Mattis, demanding he rescind¹⁹ the new policy of excluding U.S. troop numbers in war zones from the Pentagon's quarterly reports. One of those Democrats is Vermont's Peter Welch.

PETER WELCH: In the past, there's at least been transparency. Now there isn't. And whether the number's going up or down, whether there's success or failure, it's completely unknown.

WELNA: Unknown even to members of Congress. Here's what South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham had to say about the Pentagon's suppression of troop numbers.

LINDSEY GRAHAM: Well, I'll give that with you. I didn't know that.

WELNA: Pentagon spokesman Galloway did give me a number for U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan - 14,000. But he added this caveat²⁰.

RANKINE-GALLOWAY: I can tell you that that number is approximate. It is very close to the real number. I do know the real numbers, but unfortunately, that - the real number is classified, and I just can't talk about it.

JASON DEMPSEY: I've yet to hear anybody articulate one instance where those numbers led to an operational risk.

WELNA: That's retired²¹ Army Lieutenant Colonel Jason Dempsey, who did two tours in Afghanistan and another in Iraq. He is now at the Center for a New American Security and has written extensively on civilian-military relations.

DEMPSEY: When we decide we're going to be just like every other insecure, two-bit, tin-pot dictator country, and that we've got to keep everything under wraps and we can't telegraph our moves, what we're essentially saying is, we don't want an engaged public.

WELNA: Former Pentagon adviser²² Loren DeJonge Schulman says numbers are key to people's awareness²³ of ongoing²⁴ conflicts.

LOREN DEJONGE SCHULMAN: Numbers are kind of a bad shorthand for talking about American commitments, but they're a useful starting point for a conversation. And if we don't start those conversations, Americans will have no way of knowing we have thousands of troops at risk overseas. We don't talk about that. The president never talks about it.

WELNA: All while those numbers under Trump have actually gone up.

David Welna, NPR News, Washington.

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1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

3 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

4 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

7 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

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 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

12 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

13 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。

14 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

15 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。

16 queries   

n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问

参考例句：

• Our assistants will be happy to answer your queries. 我们的助理很乐意回答诸位的问题。
• Her queries were rhetorical,and best ignored. 她的质问只不过是说说而已，最好不予理睬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 omission   

n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长

参考例句：

• The omission of the girls was unfair.把女孩排除在外是不公平的。
• The omission of this chapter from the third edition was a gross oversight.第三版漏印这一章是个大疏忽。

18 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 rescind   

v.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan.他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。
• Trade Union leaders have demanded the government rescind the price rise.工会领导已经要求政府阻止价格上涨。

20 caveat   

n.警告； 防止误解的说明

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling.为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。
• As I have written before,that's quite a caveat.正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。

21 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

22 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

23 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

24 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。