VOA常速英语2007年-Concern Mounts Over Pakistan's Political Turmoi

By Ravi Khanna
Washington, D.C.
23 November 2007
 

Three weeks after President Pervez Musharaff declared emergency rule, Pakistan's political unrest continues to make headlines around the world.  Although President Bush says the Pakistani general has done more for democracy in his country than any other modern leader, there is international concern the nuclear state's battle against terrorists might be weakening.  VOA's Ravi Khanna takes a look at the historical and strategic significance of Pakistan for the South Asian region and the United States.

Pakistan has been strategically important from the day in 1947 when the British carved it out of India.  The new republic shared borders with India, China, Afghanistan and Iran, and was also close to the then Soviet¹ Union.  Some Indian analysts³ allege⁴ that the British purposely created Pakistan, which, due to tensions with India, could be used by the West as a listening post to spy on its giant neighbors.

But senior analyst² Leon Hadar of the Cato Institute, a think tank in Washington, DC, does not agree. "I don't think there was a lot of thinking about it. I think it was just driven by the geo-political issues that were at that time dominating the British foreign policy.  But there is no doubt that as a result, Pakistan emerged as a very important strategic player."

Hadar says Pakistan remained critically important during the Cold War because it was a close ally of the U.S. at a time when India was seen to be in the Soviet camp.  And Pakistan's strategic significance increased when the Soviets⁵ invaded Afghanistan in 1979.  He says President Reagan turned it into a frontline state in an effort to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan.

Walter Andersen teaches South Asian affairs at the Washington, D.C. campus of Johns Hopkins University.  He says, with the al-Qaida network and Osama bin⁶ Laden⁷ reassembling in the mountains of northwestern Pakistan, the country is quite dangerous to the U.S.

"And then geographically⁸ Pakistan is right there at the entry to the Persian Gulf⁹ and all the oil resources. And then it has nuclear weapons, all of which makes it significant, particularly significant if the Islamic fundamentalists gain more power," says Andersen.

Policy analyst Farhana Ali at the Rand Corporation agrees. She says the alliance between Washington and Islamabad has to be viewed through the prism of the ongoing¹⁰ battle against terrorists.

"Now that the United States sees that al-Qaida threatens not only the U.S., but also [threatens] the world community, it is in the vital interest of America to ally itself with the country to fight against the extremists within its own borders," she says.

Some members of the U.S. Congress suggest America should cut off the billions of dollars in assistance it sends Pakistan's military to fight extremists.  Andersen at Johns Hopkins says it would be foolish for the U.S. to cut links. "Then you cut off any ability to influence in the country or cutting off all links to the military because there was a generation of the Pakistani military that had no links to the United States, and that can count. Personal connections do play a role," he says.

President Bush continues to urge General Musharraf to ensure elections are held and bring democracy to Pakistan.  Hadar at Cato says Washington should focus on helping¹¹ Pakistan fight terrorists. "If my choice is between a "Pakistani Jefferson" who is unable to achieve that goal and a repressive military dictator who can do that, I will choose the military dictator."

An expert says India is also concerned for Pakistan's welfare because of chaotic¹² political situations in neighboring Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. 

One of India's eminent¹³ syndicated columnists¹⁴ with easy access to the powerful of New Delhi, Inder Malhotra, says India could have a sea of chaos¹⁵ around it. "So we cannot underestimate either the strategic significance of Pakistan for the stability of the entire [South Asian] region, or the consequences of either complete anarchy¹⁶ or advancement¹⁷ of Islamic extremism in that country."

Malhotra says if pro-Taliban Jihadi terrorists take power in Pakistan, it will be like a Taliban regime with nuclear weapons, and the United States and India will be among their bigger targets. 

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 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。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

5 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

6 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。

7 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。

8 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

9 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。

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 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。

12 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

13 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

14 columnists   

n.专栏作家( columnist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This story will be more fodder for the gossip columnists. 这个传闻会是闲谈专栏作家的又一素材。
• The columnists coined the phrase \"to broderick\", meaning to rough up. 专栏作家们杜撰出一个新词“布罗德里克”意思是“动武”、“打架”。 来自辞典例句

15 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

16 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

17 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。