随着风险的增加 阿富汗军队的数量在减少

Report: Afghan Forces Number Shrinking as Risks Rise

The United States is pushing for peace in Afghanistan. But a new report says Afghan government security forces are shrinking. It also warns that security risks across the country are growing, and the Taliban remains¹ strong.

In other words, little has changed over the past year, even with an increase in U.S. air power. The situation in Afghanistan was termed a “stalemate,” with no side likely able to win a clear military victory.

The report comes from a group known as the Special Inspector² General for Afghanistan Reconstruction³. The findings were presented to U.S. lawmakers on Thursday.

News reports say President Donald Trump⁴ is considering withdrawing as many as half of the 14,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan. U.S. forces invaded the country more than 17 years ago, after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The U.S. Department of Defense⁵ claims that military pressure on the Taliban is increasing. Last year, the U.S. military sharply increased bombing in support of Afghan government forces. The military also increased its training of Afghan troops. Yet the Afghan military was not able to expand its control of the country last year.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has noted⁶ the sacrifices his troops are making in fighting the Taliban. He reportedly said at the World Economic Forum⁷ last week that 45,000 Afghan security forces had died since September 2014.

The heavy losses help explain why numbers of Afghan military and police forces are not at full strength.

U.S. military officials have repeatedly said they are making progress toward supporting the Afghan government to defend its own people. But the U.S. special representative to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalizad, said in recent days the U.S. and the Taliban agreed at least to the idea of peace. The Afghan government has yet to express support for the idea.

For his part, President Trump has said many times he is not sure continuing the war is wise. Afghan officials hope Trump will say what he is planning to do when he speaks to Congress and the American people in the yearly State of the Union next week.

I’m Caty Weaver⁸.

Words in This Story

stalemate – n. standstill; a lack of movement or progress

1 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。

2 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

3 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

8 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。