VOA标准英语2008年-Top US Military Officer Encouraged by Pakistani

America's top military officer says he is encouraged by Pakistani actions to quell¹ violence along the border with Afghanistan. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, senior U.S. and Pakistani military leaders met this week on an American aircraft carrier to discuss the violence.
　
Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint² Chiefs of Staff, gestures during a news conference at the Pentagon, 28 Aug. 2008

The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, says he met with the Chief of Staff for the Pakistani Army, General Ashfaq Kayani, to better understand the problem of cross-border Taliban violence as seen through the eyes of the Pakistani commander who has to fight the extremist problem in his own country.

"He is very consistent in what he is doing," Adm. Mullen said. "He has thought this through. And he continues to move forward in an area that involves obviously the Pak military, his authorities over the Frontier Corps³ as well. And so expectations for instantaneous results I think are probably a little bit too high."

Mullen and Kayani were joined Wednesday on a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean by the top American commander in Iraq, General David Petreaus, as well as other ranking U.S. and Pakistani officers.

Briefing reporters at the Pentagon Thursday, Mullen says he is encouraged by Pakistani actions to try to stop cross-border attacks. Pakistani security forces say they killed at least 44 militants⁴ in a tribal⁵ region Wednesday in a weeks-long offensive that has displaced thousands of people.

Mullen says the Indian Ocean meeting was not about U.S. commanders demanding greater action from their Pakistani colleagues, but rather an effort to discuss how best the two countries can confront the problem together.

"There was no ultimatum⁶. In my view, that does not work in this kind of relationship building,"he said. "More than anything else, I think it was that we clearly went through what the challenges are, the specifics of it, what we think the threat is, how to get at it."

Concern about the Taliban threat has grown following last week's attack against one of the largest U.S. military bases in Afghanistan and the ambush⁷ of 10 French paratroopers. The Taliban is using Pakistani territory to launch many of its attacks inside Afghanistan.

Focusing more Pakistani military resources on the border area is complicated by the country's political instability following the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf.

Mullen said there is clearly the recognition that the political process in Pakistan is, in his words, pretty challenging.

 

1 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 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。

5 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。

6 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

7 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。