VOA标准英语2009年-Pakistani Military Launches Ground Offensi

By Sean Maroney
Islamabad
17 October 2009

 
Pakistan army troops prepare to leave for patrolling during a curfew in Bannu, 17 Oct 2009
Pakistani officials say the military has launched its much anticipated ground offensive against the Taliban in the South Waziristan tribal¹ region bordering Afghanistan. 

Pakistani ground troops moved out of their bases in and around South Waziristan Saturday, hours after top military and political leaders met in the capital, Islamabad.

Pakistan has experienced a wave of terror attacks, including suicide blasts targeting international and security organizations, coordinated² attacks around the country's cultural center, Lahore, and an audacious assault on the army's headquarters near Islamabad.

Some 175 people have died in the past two weeks. The government has blamed the Pakistani Taliban, which is based in South Waziristan, for the violence.

Hours ahead of Saturday's offensive, Pakistani authorities imposed a curfew and turned off mobile phone service in some areas.

Army officials say nearly 30,000 troops have been deployed³ to take on an estimated 10,000 Taliban fighters. In recent days, the military has launched several air and artillery⁴ strikes on suspected militant⁵ positions.

Despite the military's superiority in numbers, former security chief of the tribal regions, Mahmood Shah, tells VOA it will not be an easy battle.

"This 30,000 against 10,000 is a conventional battle," he said. "The militants⁶ do not fight conventional battles."

He says he expects the military will face an enemy deeply entrenched⁷ in the mountainous and remote region. He also cautions that militants will likely launch suicide attacks elsewhere.

This is not the first time the military has done an offensive in the tribal region.  But those previous operations were not successful mainly because militants killed sympathetic tribal leaders and opposition⁸ political parties refused to offer their support. 

For the past several months since the anti-Taliban offensive in and around Swat Valley, the military has built up its forces around South Waziristan.

Manuel Bessler, head of the U.N.'s Office for Coordinating⁹ Humanitarian¹⁰ Affairs in Pakistan, tells VOA that many civilians¹¹ have fled the area.

"We had IDPs, internally displaced people, since May about 77,000, up to 80,000," he said. "Now with this more intense fighting and military operation inside [South] Waziristan, we have a daily outflow of 70 to 100 families from the area."

And with the harsh winter weather just weeks away, Bessler says his office is coordinating closely with Pakistani agencies to help those displaced.

1 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。

2 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

4 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 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。

7 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

8 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。

9 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

11 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。