voa标准英语2008年-Pentagon: Afghan Army Growing at Record Pace

Afghanistan's Army is growing at a record rate, and now leads and helps plan nearly two-thirds of the country's military operations. Army Major General Robert Cone¹, the commander of the U.S. training program in Afghanistan, says Afghan soldiers are proving themselves in battle and are dedicated² to the defense³ of their nation. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel reports from Washington.
　

Army Maj. Gen. Robert Cone, commanding general of Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan, appearing on a television monitor at the Pentagon via satellite from Kabul, 12 Nov. 2008

Briefing reporters at the Pentagon via satellite from Kabul, General Cone says efforts to train the Afghan National Army, or ANA, are going well and a goal has been set to nearly double the number of soldiers within the next several years.

"The ANA are leading about 60 percent of the operations they participate in and have proven themselves as an effective fighting force," general Cone said. "The ANA is also in the midst of expanding from their current strength of 68,000 to an end strength of about 134,000."

General Cone says that last year, 26,000 soldiers have been trained and added to the Afghan National Army. And he says that this year, the Army will expand by an additional 28,000 troops. He says that is about three times the number trained in previous years.

Cone, who heads U.S. efforts to instruct and equip Afghan security forces, says the newly trained troops are being armed with NATO weapons and supplied with armored vehicles.

Besides working with the military, Cone's command is also training the Afghan police force, which he says lags behind the Army.

"We have a long way to go," general Cone said. "This effort requires sustained support, not just from the United States, but also from the international community. This is especially true for the police reformation where I am short some 2,300 police trainers and mentors⁴."

The Bush administration is in the midst of a wide review of its war strategy in Afghanistan and is expected to present its findings before President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is a key advocate of expanding Afghanistan's military forces, although he has approved sending more than 10,000 additional American troops to help fight the Taliban and al-Qaida next year.

General Cone says an accelerated training program is a critical part of the overall plan to bring security to the country.

"The Afghans are a warrior⁵ nation. It is a warrior culture and the trick for us here is to harness that capability⁶," general Cone said. "They very much want to defend their country. And so it is up to us to really work with them in an organized fashion and be able to bring forward that capability as rapidly as we can."

General Cone says holding back an even more rapid expansion of Afghanistan's Army is a shortage of seasoned and reliable military professionals.

Cone says he is urging the Afghan government to accelerate officer training programs.

1 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

2 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

3 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。

4 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

5 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

6 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。