VOA标准英语2009年-British Official Thinks Afghan Run-off Ele

By Jennifer Glasse
London
21 October 2009

Both Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his main political opponent Abdullah Abdullah have agreed to a run-off election in Afghanistan next month.  The United States is waiting for the political outcome before deciding whether to send more troops to Afghanistan.  Britain has the second biggest troop contingent¹ behind the United States, and its foreign secretary is confident the runoff election will be competitive and credible².

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband told British radio he believes Afghanistan's run-off election will go well.

 
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband (file photo)
"I think that it is possible to have a credible election that provides a legitimate³ expression of the will of the Afghan people," he said.

Afghanistan's first round of voting in August was marred⁴ by widespread fraud.  U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told BBC television that was a painful lesson, and the United Nations will make changes for next month's vote.

"We will try to replace more than 200 district officials who have been implicated⁵ or who have not been following correct guidelines to make this election transparent⁶ and credible," he said.

Miliband welcomed the U.N. decision.

"I think the measures than Ban Ki-moon has announced are important and I think the recognition of both the leading candidates, president Karzai and Dr. Abdullah that there have been attempts at widespread fraud is important in that respect," he added.

Miliband says it is not just who wins that is important, but also that the new government has a vision for the future.

"Line one of the plan for the future of Afghanistan must be not just a credible government, not just a legitimate government, but a government with a coherent program, a consensus⁷ program for the future of the country," he explained.

The foreign secretary hopes the new government will win the confidence of the Afghan people.

"What we do need is Afghan governance of a kind that is credible in the eyes of its own people.  We need Afghan security forces that are able to defend their own country.  We need a political system that divides the insurgency⁸ and brings those that are willing to live within the constitution within it.  And finally, we need a relationship with its neighbors, above all with Pakistan, in which all recognize that Afghanistan has got to be a neutral state not a client state," he said.

Britain has 9,000 troops in Afghanistan, the second largest force behind the United States.  Last week, Britain's prime minister announced he would send 500 more soldiers, if other NATO allies follow suit and the Afghan government expands its army.

"The reason we are in Afghanistan militarily is that we know the consequences of allowing the bad lands of Afghanistan, of the Afghan-Pakistan border to become an incubator for international terrorism," he explained.  "The lives of our soldiers are being put on the line because of our own security and that is the only reason that a government in any country would put our soldiers lives in danger."

The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan has asked U.S. President Barack Obama for up to 40,000 more troops.  The president has been reluctant to make a decision while Afghanistan's political future was in doubt.  Fraud, insecurity and the weather all threaten to make next month's run-off elections difficult for one of the world's newest democracies.

1 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

2 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？

3 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

4 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

5 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

7 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

8 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