2007年VOA标准英语-US Lawmakers Urge Action by Musharraf Against E

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
12 July 2007

U.S. lawmakers have told a senior State Department official that Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf must act to eliminate Taleban, al-Qaida forces and extremists in his country. VOA's Dan Robinson reports on a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.

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Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf addresses the nation on radio and Pakistan State Television in Islamabad, 12 Jul 2007, after the raid on Red Mosque

For the second time this week, lawmakers asked tough questions about the level of President Musharraf's commitment to the fight against al-Qaida and other extremists using Pakistan as a refuge.

During questioning of Richard Boucher, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, members of the House Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs wanted to know what has come of U.S. pressure on President Musharraf.

The tone was reflected in this comment by Jim Cooper, a Democrat² from Tennessee:

"I ask myself, is there anything else they could do to harbor an international bad guy? And yet they are still listed as a strong ally of our country and we are still giving them extraordinary amounts of aid, both military and domestic," said Jim Cooper.

Richard Boucher (file photo)

Throughout the hearing, Assistant Secretary Boucher cited Pakistan's cooperation in the fight against extremist forces, noting it had captured more al-Qaida members than any country.

He answered this way when asked by several lawmakers why, as the latest U.S. intelligence reports indicate, the tribal³ region of Waziristan, near the Afghan border, remains⁴ a haven⁵ for al-Qaida and Taleban elements, despite promises by Pakistan to oust⁶ militants⁷ based there.

"The agreements in Waziristan didn't work, there was an influx⁸ of al-Qaida, they found more freedom of movement when the checkpoints were removed, and they have been able to reorganize themselves to some extent in that area, and that is a current threat and that is an important threat to all of us, to Pakistan, Afghanistan and to our homeland and we will need to deal with it, and we need to deal with it [by] working [with] the Pakistanis," said Richard Boucher.

That comment echoed the assessment⁹ of intelligence officials who testified before Congress the previous day.

John Kringen, director of intelligence at the CIA, and Robert Cardillo of the Defense¹⁰ Intelligence Agency appeared before a House committee:

KRINGEN: "The peace deal in Waziristan has not been helpful in terms of the anti-terrorist effort."

CARDILLO: "We would agree that there are conditions that have come on the backside of that agreement that have made it more difficult for us to achieve objectives."

Despite a speech by President Musharraf's Thursday in which he pledged an all-out fight against extremists in Pakistan, Democrats¹¹ and Republicans continue to question his commitment.

John Tierney is chairman of the committee. He began by talking about the Pakistan's government siege of a radical¹² mosque in Islamabad. Government forces finally ousted¹³ the radicals¹⁴ from the mosque on Wednesday:

"The Red Mosque is merely a stark¹⁵ symbol of a deeper, more pervasive¹⁶ problem in Pakistan where there are far more jihadists, extremists madrassas, al-Qaida operatives, Taleban safe-havens, and international terrorist training camps than Pakistani government officials are willing to admit," said John Tierney.

Republican Christopher Shays questions the determination of President Musharraf in the fight against terrorists:

"President Musharraf may be turning a blind eye towards [ignoring] the growing ranks of Taleban and al-Qaida in Pakistan, lacking the ability or will to crack down on terrorist training camps in western Pakistan, and stopping the infiltration¹⁷ of jihadists moving across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, and attacks on coalition¹⁸ forces and Afghan civilians," said Congressman¹⁹ Shays.

In his testimony²⁰, Richard Boucher said the U.S. remains confident that President Musharraf will continue, in his words and his actions, to fight the al-Qaida presence in Pakistan.

In his address Thursday, President Musharraf announced stepped-up military operations along his country's border with Afghanistan, saying he is determined²¹ to root out "extremism and terrorism" throughout the country.

1 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 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。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 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。

6 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

7 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。

8 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

9 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

10 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。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

13 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

14 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

15 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

16 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

17 infiltration   

n.渗透；下渗；渗滤；入渗

参考例句：

• The police tried to prevent infiltration by drug traffickers. 警方尽力阻止毒品走私分子的潜入。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A loss in volume will occur if infiltration takes place. 如果发生了渗润作用，水量就会减少。 来自辞典例句

18 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。

19 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

20 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

21 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。