2006年VOA标准英语-Pakistan President, US Military Commander

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
08 March 2006

A senior U.S. military commander met with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Wednesday to discuss the war against terrorism.  The meeting comes amid escalating¹ tensions between Pakistan and neighbor Afghanistan over regional anti-terror operations.

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Gen. Pervez Musharraf, left, meets Gen. John Abizaid in Rawalpindi, March 8, 2006   
  

The U.S. military's Central Command, CENTCOM, oversees² operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan, key battlegrounds in the U.S.-led war on terror.

On Tuesday, the head of the command, General John Abizaid, arrived in Pakistan, another front-line state in the terrorism war, and on Wednesday, he met President Pervez Musharraf outside the Pakistani capital.

Neither camp has said much about their discussion.  But presidential spokesman General Shaukat Sultan did confirm that the agenda included the growing friction³ between Pakistan and Afghanistan - again, on the subject of combating terrorism.

"The situation on the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan was discussed. Pakistan's point of view was conveyed," general Sultan says.

In a written statement, the Pakistani government said Mr. Musharraf stressed to General Abizaid the need for greater coordination⁴ and sharing of intelligence in real time with Afghanistan.

In the last few weeks Pakistan and Afghanistan have exchanged increasingly barbed accusations⁵ over border security.

Afghan officials claim militants⁶ of the country's former Taleban regime have crossed the border and set up training camps inside Pakistan's remote tribal⁷ areas.

Last month Afghan President Hamid Karzai gave Pakistan a list of some 40 Taleban and al-Qaida suspects his government believes are hiding in Pakistan.

Islamabad subsequently described the intelligence as worthless.  Earlier this week, Mr. Musharraf accused Afghan officials of intentionally⁸ trying to undermine Pakistan's anti-terror operations.  In an interview with CNN, he accused Mr. Karzai of being out of touch with events in his own country.

Security Analyst⁹ Samina Ahmed is the International Crisis Group's regional supervisor¹⁰ based in Pakistan.

"This is a fairly serious confrontation¹¹. It's gone beyond the tension and the rhetoric¹² [and] now it seems neither side is willing to calm down," Ahmed said.

Still, she says, both countries remain key U.S. allies in the war on terror, and Washington still needs their cooperation to win that war.

"There's a lot at stake here, and above all, what's at stake is U.S. lives, so you can imagine what the CENTCOM chief is up against," Ahmed said.

Abizaid was scheduled to leave Pakistan Wednesday. 

1 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

2 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

3 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

4 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

5 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

8 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

11 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

12 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。