VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Studies Afghanistan Troop Increase Now, N

President Obama is expected to formally approve in the coming days the deployment² of 7,000 additional U.S. combat troops to Afghanistan, and thousands more support troops. But while the general approach to restoring security and stability to the country are known, the president is expected to make the deployment decision before deciding on his overall strategy for Afghanistan.
　
A US soldiers walks through compound at Forward Operating Base Salerno on outskirts³ of Khost, Afghanistan (file)

In classic strategy making, planners identify their goals and the associated risks, before deciding how to proceed. But as the Obama Administration continues to develop its official strategy for Afghanistan, the president is expected to go ahead and approve additional troop deployments.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell explains why. "No matter what your overall strategy may be, we need to reverse the trends that we are seeing in some parts of the country in terms of a deteriorating⁴ security situation. That is accepted as the foundation on whatever the president decides to develop in terms of a further strategy," he said.

Morrell says whatever the details, the United States will continue to pursue a military and civilian⁵ counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, combining military action against insurgents⁶ with support for the local government and economic development efforts.

Defense⁷ Secretary Robert Gates says he advocates some changes in the specific strategic goals he helped pursue during the Bush Administration. "One of the points where I suspect both administrations come to the same conclusion is that the goals we did have for Afghanistan are too broad and too far into the future, are too future-oriented, and that we need more concrete goals that can be achieved realistically within three to five years in terms of reestablishing control in certain areas, providing security for the population, going after al Qaeda, preventing the reestablishment of terrorism, better performance in terms of delivery of services to the people, some very concrete things," he said.

Secretary Gates says if the United States and its allies try to create what he called a "Central Asian Valhalla," or paradise, they will fail. That apparently⁸ refers to such goals as the establishment of a western-style democracy, free economy, human rights to western standards and many other society-building goals of the Bush Administration.

But Gates says the United States does have one very important goal in Afghanistan that it must achieve. "While this will undoubtedly⁹ be a long and difficult fight, we can attain¹⁰ what I believe should be among our strategic objectives: an Afghan people who do not provide a safe haven¹¹ for Al Qaeda, reject the rule of the Taliban, and support the legitimate¹² government that they elected and in which they have a stake," he said.

Secretary Gates supports the expected Afghanistan troop buildup, but he has also warned against sending too many U.S. troops to Afghanistan, and creating the impression that the troops are an occupying force.

Still, U.S. military commanders and civilian officials believe even limited goals in Afghanistan will require more troops, and they also note that it takes time to deploy¹ the troops once the decision is made.

One additional brigade of 3,500 U.S. troops has just arrived in Afghanistan. If the president decides now to send more, they are not expected to arrive for several months, just as the summer fighting season is getting into full swing. And the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, wants still more by the end of the year, nearly doubling the U.S. troop total to about 60,000, plus NATO forces and a larger Afghan army.

1 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

2 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

4 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

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 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

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

10 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

11 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

12 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。