VOA慢速英语2014 US Signs Security Agreement with Afghanistan

 

AS IT IS 2014-10-01 US Signs Security Agreement with Afghanistan

The United States has welcomed the signing of a Bilateral¹ Security Agreement with Afghanistan. US officials are calling the agreement, “an important step in strengthening the strategic partnership² between the two countries.” The signing comes just three months before U.S. and NATO forces are set to officially end military operations in the country.

The International Security Assistance Force has been active in Afghanistan for 13 years. The force, known as ISAF, resulted from the 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States. ISAF operations are supposed to end on December 31st.

Under the new agreement, the United States and NATO are expected to keep a smaller force in Afghanistan. John Podesta is an adviser³ to President Barack Obama. He welcomed the measure’s approval.

“The Bilateral Security Agreement provides the legal framework for the United States to continue to train, advise and assist Afghan national security forces, so terrorists can never use Afghanistan to launch attacks against the U.S. or its allies. The continuation of our security partnership will help Afghanistan preserve its progress in education, health care, human rights and economic opportunity.”

U.S. and Afghan officials opened talks on the security agreement in November of 2012. Their stated goal was to have a treaty ready by May of 2013. But negotiations⁴ with former President Hamid Karzai proved difficult. He refused to sign the agreement, leaving his replacement⁵ to do so. Afghanistan’s election process delayed the signing even more.

Arturo Munoz studies South Asian issues for the RAND Corporation, a not-for-profit policy group. He says one issue the negotiators faced was defining the work of the force in future combat operations.

“People were adamant⁶ for years that it would not have a combat role … that their main mission would be to support the Afghan army, the Afghan armed forces and provide them with additional training, with advice. One big, unresolved question was that this stay-behind force would include a commando element that would continue to do raids against suspected terrorists. For the Afghans, this was hot-button issue – foreign troops breaking down the doors of Afghan homes at night to do raids against suspected terrorists. The accusation⁷ was that a lot of times the intelligence wasn’t good and they broke into the wrong house.”

He says the solution was to place members of the U.S./NATO force with Afghan security forces. In addition, the Afghan forces are to take the lead in any such operation.                                        

The Obama administration says the new, smaller force will have two goals: training Afghan forces, and carrying out anti-terrorism operations against al-Qaida supporters. Administration officials say the U.S. will reduce its military presence by about half at the end of 2015. By the end of 2016, the military will only guard the U.S. embassy in Kabul, while providing equipment and advice to the Afghans.

The United States is expected to keep about 9,800 members of its armed forces in Afghanistan after 2014. On Monday, State Department official Jen Psaki was asked if a force of this size will be able to successfully help Afghan forces neutralize⁸ the Taliban.

“There is a training component⁹ of this that has been ongoing¹⁰. And as you know, Afghans have been in the lead, and we are continuing to implement¹¹ that in the months ahead. We are, felt committed and felt so strongly about moving forward, of course, with the conclusion of this political situation, as well as the signing of the BSA, so we could continue to have that partnership. Obviously, it has to be implemented¹², and we need to continue to work closely together to achieve a successful outcome.”

Arturo Munoz says the continued presence of NATO and U.S. troops is important for more than just military purposes.

“Not only in terms of the military advise and training, which is their main function, but the fact that they’re there also gives assurance to all the Western donors¹³ that are contributing money to the Afghan government that there’s going to be stability and that Afghanistan is not going to adapt an anti-Western position, kind of like Iraq did. So the Afghans want to show ‘we’re not Iraq, we’re different’”.

Jonah Blank works for the RAND Corporation. He says the U.S/NATO force remains¹⁴ important because of the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban.

“The fact that the U.S. and other partner nations will be present doesn’t suggest that this is going to be an easy fight. This year, the Taliban killed more Afghan soldiers and police than it has in any year since it fell from power, and there are no signs that it is easing up.”

Jonah Blank says the real test for the US/NATO force is whether it can help Afghan security forces keep the country from becoming an ungoverned space again. The Taliban, he says, were bad not just for the international community, but for the Afghan people.

1 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

2 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

3 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。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

6 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

7 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

8 neutralize   

v.使失效、抵消，使中和

参考例句：

• Nothing could neutralize its good effects.没有什么能抵消它所产生的好影响。
• Acids neutralize alkalis and vice versa.酸能使碱中和碱，亦能使酸中和。

9 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

10 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。

11 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

12 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

13 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。