2007年VOA标准英语-US, NATO Not Changing Procedures for Protecting

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
26 June 2007

In the wake of a series of high-profile incidents in which U.S. and NATO attacks have killed Afghan civilians², a senior American officer with responsibility for both forces says allied³ procedures for avoiding civilian¹ casualties are adequate. The officer blames the Taleban for putting the civilians in danger. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

Speaking via satellite from Bagram Air Base near Kabul, Brigadier General Joseph Votel says the recent incidents involving large numbers of civilian casualties have not resulted in any new procedures.

"No, there's no particularly new procedures that we are using right now," he said. "We think the procedures we have in place are good. They work. They help us minimize the effects on this."

Canadian soldiers, part of the NATO forces, walk in front of a Chinook helicopter after recapturing Ghorak district from Taleban fighters in Kandahar province, south of Kabul, June 25, 2007

General Votel, the deputy commander for operations in both the U.S.-led coalition⁴ and the NATO force in eastern Afghanistan, says NATO and coalition officers use "accepted" procedures and take "extensive measures" to avoid civilian casualties, and succeed in hundreds of operations. He says his forces "absolutely regret" any civilian casualties they cause, but he says Taleban fighters expose civilians to danger by operating in, or fleeing to, populated areas.

"I won't say every instance, but in the large majority of these incidents where we unfortunately do have a civilian injury or death or we cause some damage, in most cases these are caused principally by insurgents⁵ who are initiating⁶ activities in the direct proximity⁷ of villages or where civilians are located," he said.

Hamid Karzai speaks at press conference at in Kabul, 23 Jun 2007

On Saturday, President Karzai accused NATO and U.S. forces of carelessness in their approach to protecting Afghan civilians. He said, "Afghan life is not cheap and should not be treated as such." He said NATO and U.S. forces had killed 90 Afghan civilians during the previous 10 days. He did not provide details, or present figures for Taliban attacks.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Defense⁸ Department could not provide figures for the number of Afghan civilians killed in fighting this year. A count by the Associated Press indicates that 203 Afghan civilians died as a result of NATO and coalition operations since January, while Taleban fighters killed 178.

The news agency quotes the United Nations office in Afghanistan as having slightly higher figures, attributing 207 civilian deaths to the foreign forces and 213 to the Taleban. AP also quotes an Afghan group (ABCAR) as counting 230 civilians killed by U.S. and NATO troops, with no figure reported for Taliban killings⁹.

A senior researcher at Human Rights Watch in New York, John Sifton, says it is difficult to know whether civilian casualties in Afghanistan have increased this year because the level of fighting changes from month to month. But he says the fact that Taleban forces put civilians at risk does not justify¹⁰ U.S. or NATO forces unnecessarily endangering those civilians. Still the human rights researcher says it is not reasonable to compare the civilian deaths caused by U.S. and NATO forces to those caused by the Taleban.

"The Taleban is committing violations¹¹ of the Laws of War in almost everything they do," he said. "NATO and the United States, by contrast, is not setting out to violate the Laws of War across the board. However, they're failing to take precautions in a lot of cases, and may occasionally cross the line and violate the Laws of War themselves."

Sifton says Taleban fighters hide among civilians, and even when they attack military targets they do so in civilian areas and use high explosives that are bound to kill many people. He says NATO and U.S. forces are more careful, but he says they still rely too much on highly-destructive air strikes in populated areas.

"NATO, obviously, does take many precautions to avoid civilian casualties," Sifton said. "There's no doubt about it. The concern that we have, and that many human rights activists¹² on the ground have, is that they're not doing enough."

In one of the most recent incidents, NATO troops tracking a Taleban force fleeing toward the Pakistan border Saturday fired a rocket that local reports say killed at least nine Pakistani civilians. Pakistan criticized the incident, and said all military activity on its side of the border should be done by its own forces. General Votel defended the rocket strike, saying the commander operated within the established Rules of Engagement.

"In this particular situation, the commander on the ground determined¹³ that he needed to continue to address that threat until it was eliminated," he said. "And that included firing into areas that were in Pakistan."

The general expressed regret for any civilian casualties in Pakistan and says the results of the attack are being investigated. But he says the Taleban force crossed from Pakistan, attacked a NATO unit and then fled back into Pakistan. General Votel says communications with Pakistani military units are good, and efforts are made to coordinate¹⁴ anti-Taliban operations on both sides of the border.

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

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 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

4 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。

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 initiating   

v.开始( initiate的现在分词 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• He is good at initiating projects but rarely follows through with anything. 他善于创建项目，但难得坚持完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Only the perchlorate shows marked sensitiveness and possibly initiating properties. 只有高氯酸盐表现有显著的感度和可能具有起爆性能。 来自辞典例句

7 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

8 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。

9 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

10 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

11 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

12 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。