The U.S. and other NATO forces on October 7, 2001 attacked al-Qaida extremists and their Taliban allies in Afghanistan, less than a month after the September 11 terrorist attacks. That military operation drove the Taliban from power. But the conflict that began so promisingly 10 years ago is still going on - the longest war in U.S. history.
在2001年9月11日美国遭受恐怖袭击不到一个月之后，美军于10月7日和北约其他成员国的部队一道在阿富汗对基地组织极端分子和他们的塔利班盟友发动了进攻。10年前开始的这场有望速决的战争现在仍在进行，这是美国历史上最长的一次战争。
Unexpected resistance
Few expected the Taliban government in Afghanistan to fall as quickly as it did 10 years ago. But equally surprising, NATO forces are still fighting Taliban and al-Qaida insurgents 10 years later. It was in late 2001 that Afghan forces, aided by a U.S. bombing campaign, drove the Taliban from Kabul. But then Taliban and al-Qaida leaders fled into the mountains of Tora Bora, escaped into Pakistan and the fighting has raged ever since. Critics blame the escape on the lack of sufficient allied troops in the country - a criticism NATO itself recognizes. 批评人士把那些人的逃脱归咎于阿富汗缺乏足够的联军部队，北约也承认这一批评。
很少有人能料到，阿富汗的塔利班政府10年前那么迅速的垮台。可是同样令人惊奇的是，10年之后，北约部队仍在与塔利班和基地组织的叛乱分子作战。2001年年底，阿富汗部队在美国空中轰炸的援助下，把塔利班赶出喀布尔。可是当时，塔利班和基地组织领导人逃入托拉波拉山区，进入巴基斯坦。从那时以来，战斗一直激烈的进行。
"There were a number of mistakes that were made over the years, and definitely in the years before 2009," said General Carsten Jacobson, ISAF spokesman. "I would say the first one was to underestimate the Taliban because we were blinded by the success that we had in 2001 and 2002. We didn’t bring enough forces into the country."
北约驻阿富汗的国际安全援助部队发言人雅各布森将军说：“过去这些年，特别是在2009年之前，我们犯过一些错误。第一个错误就是低估了塔利班，因为我们当时被我们在2001年和2002年取得的胜利冲昏了头脑。我们没有调动足够的部队去阿富汗。”
Insufficient troops
Without enough allied troops to stop them, Taliban fighters began slipping back into Afghanistan and regaining territory. NATO forces could do little but hold on. In 2003, the U.S. also switched its attention to a new war - in Iraq.
由于没有足够的联军部队阻止他们，因此，塔利班的战斗人员开始悄悄地返回阿富汗，重新占领了一些地盘。对此，北约部队几乎无能为力，只有坚持和他们作战。2003年，美国也把它的注意力转向伊拉克的新战争。
That, too, ran into problems, after initial success, until U.S. forces adopted counter-insurgency tactics, sent more troops and began training local security forces, including former insurgents. That seemed to work. NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan took notice.
伊拉克战争在最初取得成功之后也遇到问题，后来美军采用了打击叛乱策略，派遣了更多部队，并且训练包括前叛乱人员在内的当地安全武装，这些办法看来起了作用。北约驻阿富汗的国际安全援助部队注意到了这一点。
"Lessons were drawn out of Iraq," said General Jacobson. "The right lessons were drawn out of Iraq and basically it was becoming very clear by the end of 2008 and through 2009 that something had to be done to defeat the insurgency and in parallel to build up security forces."
该部队发言人雅各布森将军说：“我们从伊拉克战争中获得了有益的经验。在2008年底至2009年期间，我们基本上已经十分清楚，必须采取某些行动以击败叛乱分子，与此同时，还要加强我们的安全部队。”
Lessons learned
In addition, U.S. President Barack Obama shifted attention back to Afghanistan. More troops arrived in 2009.
此外，奥巴马总统把注意力再次转向阿富汗。2009年，更多的美军被派往阿富汗。
And the build up of Afghan security forces also increased, coupled with an aggressive program using unmanned drone planes to strike at insurgent havens in Pakistan's border region. In a visit to Afghanistan before stepping down as chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen had this to say:
阿富汗的安全部队也得到加强，同时也实行了一项很有力度的计划，使用无人驾驶飞机向巴基斯坦边境地区叛乱分子的藏身处发动空袭。美军参谋长联席会议主席迈克.马伦海军上将在离任前出访阿富汗期间说了这样一番话。
"The enemies of Afghanistan and those who seek nothing more than to strike out against our coalition have been dealt heavy blows over the last year," he said. "They’ve been pushed out of sanctuary. They’ve been denied influence over local populations. They’ve been hounded and they’ve been hunted. Their leaders killed or captured by the score."
马伦上将说：“阿富汗的敌人以及那些只想袭击我们联军的人去年遭到重创。他们被赶出藏身处，已无法对当地人施加影响。他们受到了追捕。他们的大批头目不是被打死就是被抓获。”
Fragile success
But in the same speech, Mullen said those successes are fragile and could be reversed. The insurgents are now focusing on high profile attacks, car bombings and assassinations. But there also are some efforts toward reaching a negotiated settlement.
可是在同一次讲话中，马伦说，这些胜利不但是脆弱的，而且有可能被逆转。叛乱分子现在把注意力集中在制造引人注目的袭击、车载炸弹爆炸和暗杀行动方面。不过也有为通过谈判达成协议所做的一些努力。
"You don’t make peace with your friends, you make peace with your enemies," General Jacobson explained. "At the end of the day, peace has to be found with those who had a reason to take up the insurgency, to take up weapons and to fight the development of Afghanistan."
雅各布森将军解释说：“你不会与朋友达成和平协议，你只是与敌人达成和平协议。我们最终达成和平协议的对象就是那些过去出于某种原因武装叛乱，并且为反对阿富汗的发展而作战的人。”
Several NATO nations with troops in Afghanistan plan to end their combat role there by 2014. Until then, the fighting continues and Afghanistan remains a nation at war.
向阿富汗出兵的几个北约成员国计划在2014年以前结束他们的战斗任务。而在此之前，战斗仍在继续，阿富汗仍然是一个处于战争状态的国家。 |