VOA标准英语2009年-US Calls on Karzai to Fight Corruption

By Al Pessin
Washington
04 November 2009

 
Admiral Mike Mullen (file photo)
The top U.S. military officer said Wednesday Afghan President Hamid Karzai must arrest and prosecute¹ corrupt² officials and take other action to establish the legitimacy³ of his government, following the fraud-marred election. Admiral Mike Mullen also estimated that if President Barack Obama approves a further surge of U.S. forces for Afghanistan, it should be possible to improve security and stability enough to begin withdrawing those forces within a few years.

Admiral Mullen told a gathering⁴ of civilian⁵ government executives now that President Karzai's re-election has been made official by the cancellation⁶ of the runoff, he must exercise his leadership to convince Afghans his government has their best interests at heart. "He's got to take concrete steps to eliminate corruption⁷. That means that you have to rid yourself of those who are corrupt, you have to actually arrest and prosecute them. You have to show those visible signs," he said.

Admiral Mullen said the U.S. government is "extremely concerned" about corruption in Afghanistan, and that if the issue is not addressed, any U.S. and international military effort will not succeed. "If we don't get a level of legitimacy and governance, then all the troops in the world aren't going to make any difference," he said.

The admiral said it should be clear pretty quickly whether President Karzai is willing and able to take the steps necessary to fight corruption.

But at the same time, Admiral Mullen, who is Chairman of the Joint⁸ Chiefs of Staff, expressed confidence that with a solid Afghan partner, an increase in U.S. forces can bring a measure of security and stability to Afghanistan within a few years, as the 2007/2008 "surge" helped provide an opportunity for Iraq to move forward in a more secure environment.

"The timeline that we've talked about is actually, in a sense that, if I were to use the surge in Iraq,...look where we are right now, sort of apply the same kind of timeline to Afghanistan, as best we can tell, and we think that's reasonable, in terms of having the impact, and then being able to thin our forces out and bring them back," he said.

The Iraq surge involved about 20,000 U.S. combat troops over a period of a year and a half. President Obama is now considering whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. The U.S. and NATO commander there, General Stanley McChrystal, has said that without more troops the allied⁹ effort could fail. He is believed to be asking for as many as 40,000 troops, maybe more, on top of 68,000 U.S. troops and 40,000 from other countries, who are already there.

Admiral Mullen says additional troops would be used to provide more security for ordinary Afghans, in the hope they would turn against the insurgents¹⁰. And he says that is already happening in areas where forces President Obama deployed¹¹ earlier this year are operating.

"It is, in the end, about the people. And in a counterinsurgency the people of Afghanistan are going to throw the bad guys out. It's not going to be the kinetics (military action) that do it. We are starting to see positive effects like this in Helmand, where the Marines went in in July, in a place called Nawa, where the bazaar¹² is open, as an example, and we see these classic counterinsurgency responses, where security exists," he said.

Admiral Mullen says while comparisons between Iraq and Afghanistan are not perfect, some lessons learned in Iraq in recent years can apply. He says both countries have armies that are developing well, police forces that are hampered¹³ by corruption but have potential, and both have economic capabilities¹⁴ that can be unleashed¹⁵ if the security situation improves. But he repeated his view that a military surge is not enough. He said a surge of foreign civilians¹⁶ to help with economic development and a variety of other issues is also needed.
 

1 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

2 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

3 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。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 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。

6 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 bazaar   

n.集市，商店集中区

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• We bargained for a beautiful rug in the bazaar.我们在集市通过讨价还价买到了一条很漂亮的地毯。

13 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

14 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

15 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 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。