2007年VOA标准英语-US General Says Taleban Did Not Launch Spring O

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
18 April 2007

A U.S. commander in eastern Afghanistan says the expected Taleban spring offensive has not materialized, partly because of increased operations by U.S. and NATO forces.  VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

Brigadier General Joseph Votel says although there are clashes every day, they are mostly small-scale, and he has not seen any evidence that the Taleban is launching any offensive.

"I'm not sure I would classify it as an offensive.  We have been more offensive than I think they have, in our posturing¹ and in our ability to dominate areas on the battlefield," he said.

Senior U.S. and NATO commanders have said they planned to initiate² their own spring offensive in Afghanistan this year, rather than wait to respond to a Taleban offensive.

Also on Wednesday, the commander of all U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia said Pakistan is making unprecedented³ moves to try to secure its border with Afghanistan. 

Admiral William Fallon told a congressional committee Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf moved two brigades from the Indian border to an area just outside a semi-autonomous tribal⁴ region along the Afghan border that insurgents⁵ are believed to be using as a safe haven⁶. 

"He's put these forces in position just outside these tribal areas," he noted⁷.  "He has given his commanders authority to work with our commanders down to battalion⁸ level.  I think this is very significant."

General Votel, the deputy U.S. commander in eastern Afghanistan, says the new Pakistani moves are having an impact.

"We have worked very hard over the last couple of months to ensure that our tactical headquarters on the Afghan side of the border and the Pakistan tactical headquarters on their side of the border can talk and communicate freely," he said.  "And I will tell you we have seen significant progress in that communication chain across there."

General Votel, who is the deputy commander for operations for both NATO and U.S.-led counter-terrorism forces in eastern Afghanistan, said his troops are expanding their operations from the border area to the interior, where, he said, most of the people live.  He said U.S. and other international forces are involved in hundreds of humanitarian⁹ and infrastructure¹⁰ projects in an effort to help the Afghan government demonstrate that it can deliver services in that part of the country.

1 posturing   

做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was posturing a model. 她正在摆模特儿的姿势。
• She says the President may just be posturing. 她说总统也许只是在做样子而已。

2 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 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。

5 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

6 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

7 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。

8 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

9 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。