VOA标准英语2009年-US Lawmakers Question Afghanistan Strategy

By Dan Robinson
Washington
15 October 2009

As President Barack Obama held the fifth in a series of meetings with advisors² and military officials on Afghanistan, U.S. lawmakers were raising more questions about U.S. strategy in the country. A congressional hearing also examined the situation in Afghanistan:

As Congress waits to hear the outcome of the president's review, there is mounting concern about the ramifications³ of whatever decisions he makes, both short and long-term impact, for the United States, the South Asian region, and for the war against al-Qaida.

In an emotional speech on the floor of the Senate, Veteran-Democrat⁴ Robert Byrd, suggested the U.S. military mission has become lost in what he called some broader scheme of nation-building.

Referring to mission creep in Afghanistan, Byrd went on to question the need for 30,000 to 40,000 additional troops requested by the U.S. and NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal. "So I am compelled to ask: does it really, really take 100,000 U.S. troops to find Osama bin¹ Laden⁵? If al Qaeda has moved to Pakistan, what will these troops in Afghanistan add to the effort to defeat al Qaeda? What is really meant by the term defeat, in the parlance⁶ of conventional military aims, when facing a shadowy global terrorist network?," he said.

General McChrystal requested additional forces in a report leaked to the news media last month, warning that the U.S. military effort could fail without them.

Senator Byrd wasn't the only one voicing skepticism. House of Representatives Democratic majority leader Steny Hoyer told reporters Wednesday he is not yet at the point of being able to support a potential decision to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

Both Hoyer and Byrd pointed⁷ to concerns about the viability⁸ of Afghanistan's government following the election there. But Hoyer added he hopes lawmakers will support whatever decision the president makes.

Meanwhile, witnesses appearing before the House Armed Services committee expressed different views about the impact additional troops would have in Afghanistan.

Former U.S. Army Vice⁹ Chief of Staff General Jack¹⁰ Keane, who was intimately involved in planning for the U.S. military surge in Iraq, said multiple brigades of combat, support and training forces are needed to turn around a deteriorating¹¹ situation. "We can succeed, we can turn this around in 2 to 3 years. [But] caution: if there is a sense of a lack of a U.S. commitment, NATO and Pakistan will hedge and pull back. Many tribal¹² leaders and others in Afghanistan will do the same. And it will undermine the very objectives we are trying to achieve," he said.

Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA intelligence officer now with Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, favors a shift away from direct combat operations to a concentration on training Afghanistan's army and police, and economic development.

He disagreed with General Keane's assertion that any U.S. withdrawal¹³ from Afghanistan would likely lead to the Taliban regaining¹⁴ power, and questioned what an expanded U.S. military presence would accomplish. "The benefits in terms of ultimately adding to the safety and security of the American people would be marginal and questionable¹⁵. At best the difference such an effort would make in the terrorist threat facing Americans would be slight. At worst, the effort would be counter-productive and would not reduce the threat at all. And even at its best the benefit would be, in my judgment¹⁶, outweighed¹⁷ by the probable costs of the counter-insurgency," he said.

Stephen Biddle, Senior Fellow for Defense¹⁸ Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations discusses the decisions facing President Obama regarding Afghanistan as well as neighboring Pakistan. "We could succeed in Afghanistan and if the Pakistani government does not put its own house in order they could fail in their counter-insurgency anyway," he said.

As Congress grapples with still uncompleted fiscal¹⁹ year 2010 defense spending legislation, containing more than $100 billion for Afghanistan and Iraq, divergent views have also been heard from other congressional Democrats²⁰.

After returning from a trip to Afghanistan, Senator Daniel Inouye, who heads the powerful Senate Appropriations²¹ Committee, issued a statement this week appearing to support the request by General McChrystal for more troops, although Inouye said more discussion would be needed before any final decision on troop levels is made.

Inouye's counterpart heading the House Appropriations Committee, Democrat David Obey, has questioned the wisdom of any U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan, saying he does not believe Americans would support such a decision.

1 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

2 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

3 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

6 parlance   

n.说法；语调

参考例句：

• The term "meta directory" came into industry parlance two years ago.两年前，商业界开始用“元目录”这个术语。
• The phrase is common diplomatic parlance for spying.这种说法是指代间谍行为的常用外交辞令。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

11 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。

12 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。

13 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

14 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

15 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

16 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

17 outweighed   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的过去式和过去分词 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• This boxer outweighed by his opponent 20 pounds. 这个拳击选手体重比他的对手重20磅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She outweighed me by ten pounds, and sometimes she knocked me down. 她的体重超过我十磅，有时竟把我撞倒。 来自百科语句

18 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。

19 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

20 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》

21 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件