Several U.S. Senators and a high-ranking U.S. military official say America's allies in NATO should send more troops to fight the war in Afghanistan.
几位美国参议员和一位美国高级将领说，美国的北约盟国应当派遣更多部队前往阿富汗作战。
With the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania less than a month away, U.S. officials speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee assessed the alliance's performance in fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.
还有不到一个月的时间，北约将在罗马尼亚的布加勒斯特召开高峰会议。星期二，美国官员在美国参议院外交关系委员会上评估了北约在阿富汗向塔利班作战中的表现。
Most of them agreed that the European NATO members' participation in the mission has been vital to the progress that has been made in Afghanistan. But many of the speakers were critical of some NATO countries' restrictions that keep their troops off the front lines. Democratic Senator Joseph Biden is the committee chairman.
大多数人同意，北约中的欧洲国家成员参与打击塔利班对阿富汗的形势具有至关重要的作用。但是很多人也批评了某些北约国家设下的限制，使得本国军队不能上前线。
"But the so-called national caveats are making a mockery, in my view, of NATO and the notion of a unified mission," said Senator Biden. "One ally can fight here but not another place. Another ally can do this but not that. In my view, you're either in this fight or you're not."
外交关系委员会主席、民主党参议员约瑟夫.拜登说：“我认为所谓的‘限止战斗行动’规定是对北约及其统一使命的嘲讽。某一盟国能在某一地方、却不能在其它地点作战。另一个盟国能这样、又不能那样做。照我看来，你要么参战，要么不参战。”
U.S. Army General John Craddock is the supreme allied commander for Europe at NATO Headquarters in Belgium. He told the committee that the restrictions need to be eased.
美国陆军将军约翰.克拉多克是设在比利时的北约欧洲司令部盟军最高指挥官。他对外交关系委员会说，有必要解除有关限制：
"These caveats, like shortfalls, increase the risk to every soldier, sailor, airman and Marine employed in theater," said General Craddock.
“这些限制像给在阿富汗的每一名陆海空军战士都增加了的风险。”
At the NATO summit, President Bush plans to thank the other alliance members for their commitments in Afghanistan. But he is expected to ask the allies to do even more.
布什总统准备在北约峰会上对各国盟友表示感谢，感谢他们在阿富汗所付出的努力。但是预计布什总统将要求盟友更为尽力。
The overall situation in Afghanistan is still a reason for concern, according to Daniel Fried, the Acting Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs.
负责政治事务的代理国务次卿丹尼尔.弗里德认为，阿富汗的总体形势仍然令人担忧
"Levels of violence are up, particularly in the south," said Daniel Fried. "The border areas with Pakistan provide a haven for terrorists. Civil-military cooperation does not work as well as it should."
。他说：“暴力活动在升级，尤其在南部。与巴基斯坦接壤的边境地区是恐怖分子的藏身之地。文官政府和军方之间还缺乏应有的良好协作。”
But Fried does see some reasons for hope.
但是弗里德也的确看到希望的曙光：
"It's worth recalling that six million Afghan children now go to school, one-third of them girls," he said. "That's two million girls in school, when under the Taleban there were none. Zero."
“值得指出的是如今600万阿富汗儿童在上学，其中三分之一是女孩，也就是200万女孩在校念书，而在塔利班统治时期这个数字是零，一个女孩都没上学。”
All 26 NATO member nations are taking part in the mission in Afghanistan, but some of them are not willing to send more troops into the country.
北约26个成员国都参与了阿富汗使命，但是某些成员国不愿意把更多部队派往阿富汗。 |