美国军方承认为阿富汗医院轰炸事件负责

AS IT IS 2015-10-06 US Promises to Investigate Afghan Hospital Attack 美国军方承认为阿富汗医院轰炸事件负责

The United States military is promising¹ to investigate whether it targeted a hospital in northern Afghanistan.

The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders says at least 22 people died in airstrikes on the hospital. The group, also known as MSF, operates the medical center in the city of Kunduz.

U.S. Defense² Secretary Ash Carter has called the attack Saturday a tragic³ loss of life. He promised a full and open investigation⁴ of the incident.

Secretary Carter admitted that U.S. planes were supporting Afghan military operations near Kunduz when the hospital was hit. Mr. Carter said he would hold “anybody responsible for doing something they shouldn’t have done.” He said there are questions about what happened and that it might take some time to gather information about the attack. He has ordered U.S. forces to provide any medical aid needed in the area.

Some U.S. officials spoke⁵ on condition that they not be identified in news reports. They said that U.S. special operations troops were helping⁶ Afghan forces. Those forces reportedly had been attacked and asked for help from warplanes. Afghan officials say their forces came under attack from Taliban fighters operating in the hospital or on its grounds.

After the attack, Doctors Without Borders said it had withdrawn⁷ from Kunduz. It added that more than 180 medical workers and patients were in the hospital at the time of the airstrikes.

The group released a statement on Sunday. It called for an independent investigation of the attack. The group expressed disgust at statements from Afghan officials suggesting that Afghan and U.S. forces decided⁸ to destroy “a fully⁹ functioning hospital because they claim that members of the Taliban were present.”

Doctors Without Borders said the statements represent an admission of a war crime.

The group also said that none of its workers reported any fighting in or near the hospital before the suspected U.S. air strike. And it said, “in any case, bombing a fully functional¹⁰ hospital can never be justified¹¹.”

It said the hospital was repeatedly hit, but nearby buildings were not damaged. The group also said the airstrikes continued for 30 minutes after U.S. and Afghan military officials in Kabul and Washington were first informed of the raids.

Doctors Without Borders said it told the coalition¹², Afghan military and civilian¹³ officials about the hospital last week in an attempt to prevent it from being targeted.

The Taliban sent a statement to VOA denying that its fighters were in the hospital when the building was attacked.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called the airstrike “inexcusable.”

The rights chief said that, “international and Afghan military planners have an obligation to respect and protect civilians¹⁴ at all times, and medical facilities and personnel are the object(s) of a special protection. If established as deliberate in a court of law, an airstrike on a hospital may amount to a war crime.”

Jonah Blank is a South Asia expert with the RAND Corporation research group. He praised the work of Doctors Without Borders. And he said we should wait for the results of the investigation.

Mr. Blank noted¹⁵ that now that the NATO-led combat mission in Afghanistan has ended, Afghan forces often ask for support from warplanes. And he said the presence of the U.S. special forces shows that Afghan forces are unable to force Taliban fighters from Kunduz by themselves.

About 9,800 American troops are now in Afghanistan. The U.S. military had planned to reduce that number to 1,000 by the end of 2016. But some reports say U.S. defense officials are worried about the security situation in Afghanistan and may want to keep a few thousand troops in the country after 2016.

Words in This Story

disgust – n. a strong feeling or dislike for something

functioning – adj. operating; working

facilities – n. buildings or equipment made for a special purpose

personnel – n. workers; employees

deliberate – adj. done in a way that is planned

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 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。

3 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

11 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

12 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

13 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

14 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。