VOA标准英语2009年-UN Security Council Extends NATO Mandate i

By Margaret Besheer
United Nations
08 October 2009

 
U.N. Security Council (file photo)
The U.N. Security Council has extended the mandate¹ of the NATO-led military forces in Afghanistan for another year. The 15-member council also urged the protection of civilians³ and stressed the importance of building up Afghanistan's own military and police forces.

The council unanimously extended the mandate authorizing⁴ the nearly 68,000 strong International Security Assistance Force, known as ISAF, until October 13, 2010.

Speaking after the vote, British Ambassador John Sawers said the resolution stresses the importance of protecting civilians.

"This resolution goes out of its way to emphasize the importance of protecting the Afghan civilian² population, which is one of the centerpieces of General [Stanley] McChrystal's approach as NATO commander on the ground," said John Sawers.

General McChrystal is the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan. He has reportedly asked President Barack Obama for an additional 40,000 U.S. troops to help defeat the Taliban.

 
Man wounded in blast lies in hospital bed as his relative sobs⁵ next to him in Kabul, 8 Oct 2009
The NATO-led ISAF has nearly 68,000 troops from 42 countries, including more than 30,000 from the United States. In addition, the United States has another 30,000 military personnel under its direct command in Afghanistan.

The Security Council resolution calls on member states to contribute personnel, equipment and other resources to the coalition⁶ so it can carry out its mandate. It also stresses the importance of expanding and improving the Afghan national army and police.

The routine rollover of the ISAF mandate Thursday comes against a backdrop of debates in Washington and other capitals about future strategy and troop commitments in Afghanistan. A sharp increase in troop casualties in recent months has led to a drop off in public support for the 8-year long war effort.

Separately, the Security Council issued a statement condemning⁷ "in the strongest terms" the suicide attack Thursday near the Indian embassy in Kabul that killed and injured dozens.

1 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

2 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。

3 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。

4 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

5 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

6 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。

7 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》