VOA标准英语2009-US Officials: Terrorism in Africa's Sahel Re

By Cindy Saine
Capitol Hill
17 November 2009

 
Senior U.S. government officials say terrorism is an increasing concern in Africa's Sahel region. Government leaders told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the United States needs to play a supporting role, and not a leadership role, in efforts to help countries in the Sahel region fight terrorism.

Several high-level Obama administration officials told a Senate panel the United States and its allies are supporting counter-terrorism efforts in the Sahel countries, which include Mauritania, Mali, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea and Senegal. 

The region is one of the poorest in the world, and governments there often lack the necessary resources to fight terrorist activity, which surged when al-Qaida branches began to emerge in Africa. In January 2007, the group "al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb" announced its existence.

The State Department's Coordinator¹ for Counter-terrorism, Daniel Benjamin, described the problem.
 
"Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb continues to menace parts of the Maghreb and the Sahel. In the north it is frustrated² by Algeria's effective counter-terrorism operations, but in parts of the Sahel it continues to operate with considerable impunity," he said.

Benjamin said the extremist group finances itself mainly by kidnapping foreign tourists and diplomats³ and demanding ransom⁴, and commits murders and other crimes to garner⁵ media attention.

 
US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson (File)
 
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson said the United States is committed to helping⁶ the Sahel countries fight terrorism, but realizes this needs to be done in a supporting, and not a leadership role.

"Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and others in the region can manage and contain this issue if they work together, and receive appropriate encouragement and support from countries like the United States," he explained. "We should not seek to take this issue over. It is not ours, and doing so might have negative consequences for U.S. interests over the long term," he said.

The United States has stepped up support for Mali for example, providing pick-up trucks, communications equipment and training courses for the Malian Army. 

U.S. Agency for International Development Acting⁷ Assistant Administrator⁸ for Africa Earl Gast explained the focus of his agency's efforts in the region to combat extremism.

"Youth empowerment, education, media and good governance are the four areas where we see the greatest opportunity for local partnerships⁹ and progress," he said.

Gast said the Agency for International Development specifically reaches out to young men in the Sahel region, the group most likely to be targeted by extremist groups.

1 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

2 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

5 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

9 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句