VOA标准英语2009年-Gates Asks NATO for More Help in Afghanist

By Al Pessin
On Board a U.S. Military Aircraft
22 October 2009

 
Robert Gates, 21 Oct 2009
U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates flew to Slovakia to ask NATO defense ministers to help the United States respond to the request for more resources made by the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal.

Secretary Gates is in the potentially awkward position of asking NATO allies to do more in Afghanistan, while the U.S. government is still reviewing its own plans. But he told reporters on his aircraft it makes sense to have these talks now because the effort to stabilize² and develop Afghanistan is a NATO mission, not just an American one.

"This is an alliance issue and my view all along has been we ought to do this in a way that if General McChrystal has an additional set of needs, it should not be looked upon as exclusively the responsibility of the United States to respond," said the defense secretary.

Gates says since the NATO summit last spring he has seen "more energy and more commitment" among NATO nations to doing what is necessary to succeed in Afghanistan. He described current consultations³ with NATO allies as "intense."
 
General McChrystal says the allied⁴ effort could fail to prevent a militant⁵ takeover in Afghanistan unless he is given more resources. In a secret request, he is believed to be asking for 40,000 or more additional troops, on top of 68,000 U.S. and nearly 40,000 coalition⁶ troops already there. President Barack Obama is expected to decide on any additional U.S. deployment⁷ soon.

Secretary Gates says he wants his NATO counterparts to think about what additional commitments they can also make to help reverse gains made by the Taliban and similar groups in recent years.

"My hope is that we can have a serious discussion about how things have changed in Afghanistan since last spring, and a way forward in which the alliance can share these responsibilities and work with the Afghan government to move the situation in a more positive direction," he said.

But the secretary says all contributions to the Afghanistan effort do not have to be military. He says he headed for Bratislava with a "menu of options" for allies to consider, and that much of the capability⁸ General McChrystal wants is not controversial, such as civilian⁹ assistance, training, and financing for development projects.

 
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates (l) and South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae Yong speak to reporters in Seoul, S. Korea, 22 Oct 2009
Speaking early Thursday during a visit to South Korea, Gates also welcomed the decision to hold a runoff to decide the Afghan presidential election, saying all nations involved have an interest in a smooth process to provide the winning candidate with as much legitimacy¹⁰ as possible.

"I think virtually all of the nations that increased their troop presence to provide security for the elections in August have kept those forces there and so are in a position to try and, along with their Afghan Army and police counterparts, provide as good a security as possible for the [runoff] elections," he said.

But Secretary Gates says that will not end problems of corruption¹¹ and weak governance in Afghanistan. He says the international community will still have much work to do with any new government in Kabul to provide the kind of stability, security and services that will have a chance of convincing the Afghan people to support the government, rather than the militants¹² of the Taliban and al-Qaida. 

1 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。

2 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

3 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 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。

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 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 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

8 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

9 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。

10 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

11 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

12 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。