VOA标准英语2009-NATO Chief Confident Afghanistan Will Have M

By Jennifer Glasse
London
17 November 2009

 
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, 16 Nov 2009
The NATO secretary-general says he is confident the United States and other NATO allies will send more troops to Afghanistan, where insurgent¹ attacks have surged in recent months.

He spoke² at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Meeting in Edinburgh, where Britain's foreign secretary outlined the strategy his nation would support.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made clear that despite an intensifying³ insurgency⁴ and uncertainty⁵ over whether U.S. President Barack Obama will send more troops, NATO will remain in Afghanistan.

"Do not make any mistake, we will stay in Afghanistan as long as it takes to finish our job. But that is of course not forever," he said.

Mr. Rasmussen said he is confident there will soon be substantially more troops and with that, new momentum⁶ for the mission.

 
Afghan lawmaker Ahmad Farid (4th Row Center) attends NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Edinburgh, Scotland, 17 Nov 2009
"Our mission in Afghanistan ends when the Afghans are capable to secure and run their country themselves. The way forward is to hand over lead responsibility for security to the Afghan security forces, district by district, province by province, as their own capacity develops," he said.

The British prime minister would like some of the handover to begin in 2010. He has offered to host a summit in London early next year to discuss how the international community should proceed. 

Speaking to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, British Foreign Minister David Miliband said Afghanistan needs to be built from the grass-roots level.

"A winning political strategy would select and train, empower and equip, mentor⁷ and monitor those responsible for governing the provinces and districts of Afghanistan," he said.

Mr. Miliband says local leaders will then be able to distribute money that would create jobs and rebuild Afghanistan's infrastructure⁸. He said because much of the nation is at war, it is inevitable⁹ that governments are focusing on troop levels, but he said there needs to be a coordinated¹⁰ effort.

 
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband addresses NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Edinburgh, Scotland, 17 Nov 2009
"Success must be based on aligning¹¹ our military and civilian¹² resources under a clear political strategy," said Miliband. "A strategy that reassures¹³ and mobilizes ordinary Afghans to resist the Taliban, that divides the insurgency by reintegrating and reconciling those is search of money, status or power. not ideology¹⁴ and that builds a new relationship between Afghanistan and its neighbors," he added.

Britain has promised to send an additional 500 troops to Afghanistan, bringing its force total to 9,500, second only to the United States. But it will do so only if other NATO nations follow suit, the Afghan government pledges to fight corruption¹⁵, and its forces have adequate equipment.

Later this week, Hamid Karzai will be sworn in to his second term as Afghan president. His government is seen as riddled¹⁶ with corruption and his election is considered deeply flawed. Mr. Karzai pledged his government will spend the next five years fighting corruption.

U.S. President Barack Obama is considering sending additional American forces to Afghanistan. His top general there has reportedly asked for up to 40,000 troops.

1 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

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 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

4 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

5 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

6 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

7 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

10 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

11 aligning   

n. (直线)对准 动词align的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals. 有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。
• ToolTips provide textual hints that assist in drawing lines and aligning objects. 工具提示提供了协助画线和对象对齐的文本提示。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 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。

13 reassures   

v.消除恐惧或疑虑，恢复信心( reassure的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A significant benefit of Undo is purely psychological: It reassures users. 撤销的一个很大好处纯粹是心理上的，它让用户宽心。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Direct eye contact reassures the person that you are confident and honest. 直接的目光接触让人相信你的自信和诚实。 来自口语例句

14 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

15 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。

16 riddled   

adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式)

参考例句：

• The beams are riddled with woodworm. 这些木梁被蛀虫蛀得都是洞。
• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。 来自《简明英汉词典》