VOA标准英语2009-Obama: Afghanistan Troop Announcement Coming

US president says he will announce a new Afghanistan war strategy soon. Mr. Obama says he will explain his decision to the American people after the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend

Paula Wolfson | The White House 24 November 2009

President Barack Obama speaks during a joint¹ press conference with Indian PM Manmohan Singh (not pictured) at the White House, 24 Nov 2009

"I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we are doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive."

U.S. President Barack Obama says he will announce a new Afghanistan war strategy soon.  Mr. Obama says he will explain his decision to the American people after the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The president held his final meeting on the new strategy Monday evening - huddling² behind closed doors for several hours with members of his national security team.

He says he will make the decision public soon.

"I will be making an announcement to the American people about how we intend to move forward.  I will be doing so shortly," he said.

For weeks, Mr. Obama has been studying possible war scenarios³ - including a proposal for a substantial increase in U.S. troops.

He defends the lengthy⁴ review, saying it is important to get the decision right.

"After eight years - some of those years in which we did not have, I think, either the resources or the strategy to get the job done - it is my intention to finish the job," he said.

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India after a press conference a the White House, 24 Nov 2009

The comments came during an appearance at the White House with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is on a state visit.

Mr. Obama said they discussed the need to destroy and disable al-Qaida and its extremist allies, and create a stable Afghanistan.

"I think it is worth mentioning since I am with the prime minister of India, that this is important not just to the United States but to the world - and that the whole world has a core security interest in making sure that the kind of extremism and violence that you have seen emanating⁵ from this region is tackled, confronted, in a serious way," he said.

Public opinion polls in the United States show dwindling⁶ support for the war in Afghanistan.  But the president says once they understand his plan, Americans will stand behind it.

"I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we are doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive," he said.

Sensitive to public fears of a long conflict, White House officials have stressed that the American commitment in Afghanistan is not open-ended.

They indicate the president has focused on creating the conditions that will permit U.S. forces to eventually withdraw.  In his comments to reporters, the president made clear military training for Afghans is a big part of the equation.

"It is going to be very important to recognize that the Afghan people are ultimately going to have to provide for their own security and so we will be discussing that process whereby Afghan security forces are properly trained and equipped to do the job," he added.

This year has been the deadliest for foreign forces in Afghanistan since the conflict began in 2001.  There are now 68,000 Americans deployed⁷ there.

1 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。

2 huddling   

n. 杂乱一团, 混乱, 拥挤 v. 推挤, 乱堆, 草率了事

参考例句：

• Twenty or thirty monkeys are huddling along the thick branch. 三十只猴子挤在粗大的树枝上。
• The defenders are huddling down for cover. 捍卫者为了掩护缩成一团。

3 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

4 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

5 emanating   

v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的现在分词 )；产生，表现，显示

参考例句：

• Even so, there is a slight odour of potpourri emanating from Longfellow. 纵然如此，也还是可以闻到来自朗费罗的一种轻微的杂烩的味道。 来自辞典例句
• Many surface waters, particularly those emanating from swampy areas, are often colored to the extent. 许多地表水，特别是由沼泽地区流出的地表水常常染上一定程度的颜色。 来自辞典例句

6 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

7 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。