VOA慢速英语--美代理防长:阿富汗人必须自己决定未来

Acting¹ US Defense² Chief: Afghans Must Decide Own Future

During a trip to Afghanistan, America’s acting defense chief said that the Afghan people must be a part of peace negotiations³ to shape the country’s future.

Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan arrived Monday in Kabul for an unannounced visit. He held talks with President Ashraf Ghani and other Afghan officials.

Before the meeting, Shanahan told reporters that he would make clear his support for Afghan officials being included in negotiations aimed at ending the country’s 17-year war.

U.S. officials have led several rounds of talks with Taliban representatives in recent weeks. The goal of the talks is to reach a peace deal agreed to by all sides in the war.

Taliban fighters currently carry out near-daily attacks in the country, mainly on Afghan security forces. The Taliban currently controls about half the country’s territory.

The war began when U.S.-led forces launched attacks shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. The military action was aimed at ousting⁴ the Taliban from power.

U.S. officials accused Taliban leaders of providing support to al-Qaida leader Osama bin⁵ Laden⁶ and his followers⁷.

Zalmay Khalilzad is the U.S. negotiator who led the latest round of talks with Taliban representatives in the Gulf⁸ nation of Qatar. He has reported “significant progress” in the talks.

He said on Friday that he hopes a peace deal can be reached by July. That is when Afghanistan is set to hold a presidential election.

The next round of talks is set for February 25 in Qatar.

So far, the Taliban has refused to permit Ghani’s government to join the peace talks. Taliban leaders say they do not recognize the current Afghan government.

U.S. officials have sought to resolve the disagreement so all parties can take part.

“The Afghans have to decide what Afghanistan looks like,” Shanahan told reporters. “It’s not about the U.S., it’s about Afghanistan,” he said.

Shanahan also said he had not received orders from U.S. President Donald Trump⁹ to reduce the number of American troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. military has about 14,000 troops in the country. About 8,000 troops from 38 other countries are also involved in the effort.

During his State of the Union address last week, Trump said the United States would keep working toward a peace deal to end the Afghan war. “We do not know whether we will achieve an agreement,” Trump said.

But he added: “We do know that after two decades of war, the hour has come to at least try for peace.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

emphasize – v. show that something is especially important or needs special attention

significant – adj. important

achieve – v. succeed in doing something

decade – n. ten years

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

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 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。

4 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

5 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

6 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

7 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

9 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。