VOA常速英语2008年-Officials Urge NATO to Save Afghanistan, Future

By Sonja Pace
London
08 February 2008

There has been no shortage of dire¹ predictions recently of the potentially disastrous² consequences if NATO does not pull together to put more troops and equipment on the ground in Afghanistan. Senior U.S. officials have traveled to Europe and Afghanistan to shore up support, NATO ministers have been meeting to discuss the issue amid warnings that failure could jeopardize³ the future of the alliance, spark a new round of terrorist attacks in the West and leave Afghanistan a failed state. VOA's Sonja Pace has this report from London.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came to London this week, and then made a surprise visit to Afghanistan with her British counterpart David Miliband. U.S. Defense⁴ Secretary Robert Gates said he came to the NATO ministers meeting in Lithuania Thursday to nag⁵ his counterparts.

"I called on the other allies to make further commitments to the mission, to do what they could to meet unmet needs, as articulated by the commanders out there, and to consider other, more creative ways that they may be able to contribute," he said.

The message was clear - western allies must rally in Afghanistan to succeed against a resurgence⁶ of Taliban and al-Qaida extremists. Gates recently warned that not doing so would jeopardize the very future of the NATO alliance.

Similar words came from Secretary Rice who, speaking in London, acknowledged that NATO has to transform itself for the fight.

"This is a different fight than NATO was structured to do," she noted⁷.  "It's taken some time, it may take some more time."

The United States has several thousand ground troops in Afghanistan on anti-terrorism operations, mainly in the southern parts of the country. It also has some 16,000 troops operating within the NATO force of more than 40,000.

Washington has been increasingly critical of some NATO allies, Germany among them, for not sending enough troops and for not operating in the most volatile⁸ areas of Afghanistan.

Secretary Rice warned that the battle against terrorists is, as she put it, the core of the modern fight.

"And, it's a tough fight, and it's a long fight," she added.

In London, defense analyst⁹ Christopher Langton of the International Institute of Strategic Studies says a clear understanding of the time involved in the conflict is crucial.

LANGTON: "Western governments tend to have a very short-term view of life.  We're high-speed societies and we like to get things done quickly.  This is a very long-term venture. It means being there for a very long time."

PACE: "When you say being there for a long time, what sort of timeframe are we talking about?"

LANGTON: "Ah well you see, you are asking a very western question - we have to have a timeframe.  There is no timeframe and if we say there is a timeframe, then we hand over a little bit of advantage to the opposition¹⁰.  You [They] say, ah, there's a timeframe, all we have to do is keep going until the end of that timeframe and the field is ours."

Langton says U.S. anti-terrorist operations need to continue, and he says greater multinational¹¹ efforts are needed to build up Afghan government forces.

American efforts this week to shore up NATO support come on the heels of recent reports about a deteriorating¹² situation in Afghanistan and even a warning that Afghanistan risks becoming a failed state.

Christopher Langton says he prefers not to use the term "failed state", but he warns of the consequences if the West's commitment to Afghanistan falters¹³.

"We're looking at something, which I think all of us would find unpalatable and that is we would be returning Afghanistan to a state of civil war, which it was in before we got there and I don't think many of us find that morally acceptable," he added.

The U.S. launched the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan that toppled the Taliban and sent al-Qaida into hiding. Speaking alongside Secretary Rice in Kabul this week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said there has been progress since then to help the Afghan people. But, he also said more attention is needed in the areas of security and reconstruction¹⁴.

The issue of Afghanistan is expected to be a major topic at the NATO summit, to be held in Bucharest, Romania in early April.

1 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

2 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

3 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

4 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。

5 nag   

v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人

参考例句：

• Nobody likes to work with a nag.谁也不愿与好唠叨的人一起共事。
• Don't nag me like an old woman.别像个老太婆似的唠唠叨叨烦我。

6 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。

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 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

12 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

13 falters   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的第三人称单数 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。
• The plan never falters; the design never changes. It is all ordered. 大自然从不步履蹒跚，从不三心二意，一切都是有条不紊。

14 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。