VOA标准英语2009年-Former Top Officer Says US Should Recommit

By Al Pessin
The Pentagon
16 October 2009
  
General Richard Myers talks about US strategy in Afghanistan, 16 Oct. 2009
The man who was the top U.S. military officer at the beginning of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars says the United States needs to recommit itself to a broad, troop-intensive counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan, or it will risk sparking regional instability and a rise of global extremism. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Al Pessin spoke² to the former Chairman of the Joint³ Chiefs of Staff, retired⁴ General Richard Myers.

General Myers spent four years as the top U.S. military officer, starting just weeks after the September 11 attacks in 2001, through the early successes in Afghanistan and Iraq and the beginning of the Iraqi insurgency¹, and ending in late 2005, just before the major outbreak of violence in Iraq and well before the resurgence⁵ of the Taliban in Afghanistan during the last two years.

It was a different era. But General Myers spent many hours in the White House Situation Room, working with Bush administration officials on strategy for the two conflicts, just as current top officers are working with President Barack Obama and his team now on how to move forward in Afghanistan.
 
"My experience has been that the president would be eager to hear from lots of different voices in this argument so that he can build conviction on what the United States ought to do," he said.

 
An Afghan Election Commission worker shows a partly blank information sheet of a ballot⁶ box during the recounting possess as agents of presidential candidates (R) observe in Kabul, 05 Oct 2009
General Myers acknowledges that process has been made more difficult by the uncertain outcome of the Afghan presidential election, and allegations of widespread fraud by supporters of President Hamid Karzai. And he also says the dire⁷ assessment⁸ of the security situation by General Stanley McChrystal, the new U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has presented senior officials with an issue they did not expect.

"The field commander has said 'I need a lot more troops.' And I think it's more than most people, at least in their calculus⁹ in the back of their minds, imprecise as that probably was, it was a larger number than they were prepared for," he said.

But General Myers says the approach the commander has laid out is probably right. 

"This threat from violent extremism, not just in Afghanistan, not just in Pakistan, but globally, is a real existential threat to freedom-loving countries. And so Pakistan and Afghanistan today, that's where we need to work. So I think we need to devote the resources to try to be successful," Myers added.

 
A US Marine¹⁰ shakes hands with a local boy in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, 05 Oct 2009
The general says the U.S. and allied¹¹ effort also needs to have a significant political and economic component¹², and that a strong, credible¹³ government must emerge from the current election process. But he says a significant number of foreign troops will be needed to help establish and then maintain security in Afghanistan, possibly for decades.

The retired Air Force officer says the United States and its allies need to make that kind of decades-long commitment.
 
"I think there'll be a message if the United States decides not to commit in a robust¹⁴ way to Afghanistan. There'll be an equal and opposite reaction in the violent extremist community. And they'll say, 'Aha, the West has folded here when the going got just a little bit tough," he said.

General Myers says a strong commitment is also important for the Afghan people, who he says have demonstrated they want democracy by voting in very dangerous conditions. But he says they could turn back toward the Taliban and other extremist groups if they believe the West is planning to abandon them. 

"They've shown that they want a choice in their lives. And I don't think the international community, not just the United States but the international community, can turn their backs on them," said Myers.

For that reason, and because the Taliban is continuing its resurgence, General Myers says President Obama should take enough time to get the strategy right, but not too much time.

1 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 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。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 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。

6 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

7 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。

8 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

9 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

10 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• 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。

11 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

12 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

13 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

14 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。