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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
President Barack Obama's decision to deploy1 another 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan - and to also ask for more troops from coalition2 partners - has far-reaching strategic implications for the global effort to defeat violent extremists like the Taliban and al-Qaida. Our Pentagon correspondent reports on this important turning point in the war in Afghanistan and the Obama presidency3.
Al Pessin | Washington 01 December 2009
U.S. Army soldiers from the South Carolina National Guard and the Alpha troop 3-71 Cavalry4 Squadron patrol near the town of Baraki Barak, Logar province, Afghanistan, 23 Nov 2009
President Barack Obama's decision to deploy another 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan - and to also ask for more troops from coalition partners - has far-reaching strategic implications for the global effort to defeat violent extremists like the Taliban and al-Qaida. Our Pentagon correspondent reports on this important turning point in the war in Afghanistan and the Obama presidency.
President Obama put it starkly5 in his long-awaited Afghan strategy speech Tuesday night.
"What's at stake is not simply a test of NATO's credibility - what's at stake is the security of our Allies, and the common security of the world," said President Obama.
The president said it is "vital" to send the additional troops, and to get them there by the middle of next year, a faster-than-expected deployment6 plan.
"The president, in sending more troops to Afghanistan, is accepting responsibility for leadership of the war in Afghanistan," said Kim Kagan.
That is Kim Kagan, a military historian and president of the Institute for the Study of War. She also served in a civilian7 advisory8 group assembled by General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, who made the troop request that resulted in the president's deployment decision.
"The truth of the matter is that we do not now have enough forces in Afghanistan to conduct a counterinsurgency campaign against the Taliban," he said.
Counterinsurgency involves securing the people, building the local government and security forces and fighting the militant9 forces, all at the same time.
Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, just back from his latest visit to Afghanistan, endorses10 the decision to send more U.S. troops. He says a counterinsurgency approach and General McChrystal's specific plan offer what he calls "a decent chance of success."
"I think that there's a very strong case for a large number of additional troops," said Michael O'Hanlon. "The only detailed11 military analysis that's been done is McChrystal's."
General McChrystal said earlier this year that without more troops, the U.S. and allied12 effort in Afghanistan could fail. But not everyone is convinced that sending more troops will result in success. Among the skeptics is retired13 U.S. Army Colonel Andrew Bacevich, now a professor at Boston University.
"Counterinsurgency campaigns are long, drawn14 out, costly15 and tend to produce ambiguous outcomes," said Andrew Bacevich.
Bacevich expects no better outcome for the U.S. and allied effort in Afghanistan, particularly if the goal is, as President Obama reaffirmed Tuesday, to defeat al-Qaida and associated terrorist groups.
"I see no evidence that even if we succeed in Afghanistan, and I doubt we will, but even if we succeed in Afghanistan, we're not going to drive a stake through the heart of Jihadism," he said. "Again, more than likely, we'll probably simply exacerbate16 the problem."
Bacevich says the long-term presence of western troops in Islamic countries creates more terrorists than it kills or disarms17.
Kim Kagan at the Institute for the Study of War acknowledges that even with more troops, expanded military training, a greater effort to strengthen the Afghan government and extensive operations against insurgent18 strongholds, success is not guaranteed.
"We do have to remember that war is a risky19 business and there is no assurance any particular force level will guarantee success," he said.
Kagan says success will depend on whether commanders use the troops effectively, and how the enemy responds, as well as how willing and able Afghan leaders are to fight corruption20 and build a more effective and popular government.
And Afghanistan will have limited time to do that. President Obama says he wants to begin transferring security responsibility to the country's government and military by July of 2011. And although the president and other officials will not say how long the process will take after that, there is a timeframe many experts talk about. Among them is Michael O'Hanlon
"A rough approximation is about three years at the higher [troop] level, because that's about how long it will take to train, outfit21, deploy and mentor22 these new Afghan security forces," he said.
But O'Hanlon says initial signs of success or failure should come much sooner, probably within a year. Indeed, he says the counterinsurgency approach is already showing signs of success in areas where more U.S. troops have been sent this year.
Still, Andrew Bacevich thinks any expectation of a significant allied withdrawal23 in three years is overly optimistic.
"I'm very skeptical24 that we can achieve that kind of success in three years," said Bacevich. "I think it's far more likely that three years from now we'll have a very ambiguous situation, and the president is going to face a decision even more difficult than the one he is facing at the present moment."
Three years is a long time in American politics. Kim Kagan says the president must make clear that the fight against the Taliban and associated groups has very high stakes not only for the Afghan people, but also for the region, and the world.
"Defeating these extremist networks in series is of critical importance to the security of the United States and the security of Pakistan," said Kagan. "And is an essential prerequisite25 for success against Al-Qaida itself."
And Kagan says it is up to other American leaders to help provide the time for the president's strategy to take hold.
"What I certainly would hope is that all of the leadership of the Democratic and Republican Parties would recognize that the war in Afghanistan is actually necessary for the defeat of al-Qaida, which poses a threat to the United States of America, and would give the president the leeway that he needs to actually fulfill26 his responsibilities as commander in chief," he said.
The analysts27 say it will certainly take the rest of President Obama's term in office - and perhaps all of a second term if he is re-elected - to even have a chance to fully28, as he pledged earlier this month, "finish the job in Afghanistan."
1 deploy | |
v.(军)散开成战斗队形,布置,展开 | |
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2 coalition | |
n.结合体,同盟,结合,联合 | |
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3 presidency | |
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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4 cavalry | |
n.骑兵;轻装甲部队 | |
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5 starkly | |
adj. 变硬了的,完全的 adv. 完全,实在,简直 | |
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6 deployment | |
n. 部署,展开 | |
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7 civilian | |
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的 | |
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8 advisory | |
adj.劝告的,忠告的,顾问的,提供咨询 | |
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9 militant | |
adj.激进的,好斗的;n.激进分子,斗士 | |
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10 endorses | |
v.赞同( endorse的第三人称单数 );在(尤指支票的)背面签字;在(文件的)背面写评论;在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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11 detailed | |
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的 | |
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12 allied | |
adj.协约国的;同盟国的 | |
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13 retired | |
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的 | |
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14 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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15 costly | |
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 | |
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16 exacerbate | |
v.恶化,增剧,激怒,使加剧 | |
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17 disarms | |
v.裁军( disarm的第三人称单数 );使息怒 | |
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18 insurgent | |
adj.叛乱的,起事的;n.叛乱分子 | |
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19 risky | |
adj.有风险的,冒险的 | |
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20 corruption | |
n.腐败,堕落,贪污 | |
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21 outfit | |
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装 | |
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22 mentor | |
n.指导者,良师益友;v.指导 | |
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23 withdrawal | |
n.取回,提款;撤退,撤军;收回,撤销 | |
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24 skeptical | |
adj.怀疑的,多疑的 | |
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25 prerequisite | |
n.先决条件;adj.作为前提的,必备的 | |
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26 fulfill | |
vt.履行,实现,完成;满足,使满意 | |
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27 analysts | |
分析家,化验员( analyst的名词复数 ) | |
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28 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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