2007年VOA标准英语-US Senators Question Administration Strategy fo

By Jim Fry
Washington
09 March 2007
 
watch Afghanistan Strategy report

U.S.-led coalition¹ forces in eastern Afghanistan say they have captured a bomb-making expert with links to al-Qaida.  The capture of Mullah Mahmood in Jalalabad follows an increase in attacks last year on coalition forces and civilians².  A U.S. Senate committee questioned what one senator called a failure of the Bush administration's polices in Afghanistan. The VOA's Jim Fry reports:

In Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan, NATO targets Taleban insurgents³ in an offensive launched this week and dubbed⁴ Operation Achilles. 

On a road in Kandahar -- a suicide bomber⁵ attacked a Canadian convoy⁶, wounding five civilians.  And U.S. officials say there has been an increase in bombings and a resurgence⁷ of Taleban and al-Qaida operations in the last year.

Such developments worry members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Chairman Joseph Biden, who said, "The last year has been the bloodiest⁸ since the ouster of the Taleban."

Another senator, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, questioned Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher: "That strikes me as a pretty profound failure of our policies. Do you agree?"

Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher

Boucher replied, "We are there.  We are trying to meet them.  And I think we are better set up this year to deal with that than we were in previous years."

Q. "What does it say about our policies--"

A. "It says we have not finished the job."

Boucher says NATO has increased its presence in the country to 23,000 soldiers.  The U.S. troop number is up by 3,300 this year -- also now at 23,000.

Military and government leaders say a NATO-led offensive in the south last year turned back challenges by the Taleban.

"We stopped them from achieving their goals last year," said Boucher. "But we have not established dominance or got them on the run yet."

Boucher says the Bush administration is seeking $2 billion from Congress this year for new roads and other reconstruction⁹ in Afghanistan. Attention also is turning to Afghanistan's lucrative¹⁰ poppy crop. 

The U.S. claims that more than 90 percent of the world's opium¹¹ comes from those fields. NATO forces will try to eradicate¹² narcotics¹³ crops, but Boucher says much more help is required.

"You have to build a different rural economy.  So it is not [that] you give them a different crop.  It is:  You give them a road and electricity and irrigation."

As winter turns to spring, there is concern now that the Taleban and al-Qaida will launch new military offensives from the eastern mountains and in the south.  U.S. officials insist coalition forces are more capable this year.

Boucher told the senators, "The enemy's been spending the winter building bombs and designing tactics.  It is going to be nasty.  It is going to be difficult but I think we are better able to cope."

Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee expressed skepticism.  But with terrorist and Taleban forces still present in the country, the U.S. lawmakers say failure is unthinkable.

1 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。

2 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。

3 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

4 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

6 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

7 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

8 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

11 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

12 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

13 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》