VOA标准英语2009年-Afghanistan's Karzai Offers Peace to 'Friendly

At a high-level security conference in Munich, Germany Afghan President Hamid Karzai defended his country's progress toward peace Sunday and urged reconciliation¹ with members of the Taliban that were not part of al-Qaida.
　
President Hamid Karzai speaks during the International Conference on Security Policy, Sicherheitskonferenz, at a hotel in Munich, 08 Feb 2009

In remarks before world leaders and senior security experts, Afghan President Hamid Karzai refuted criticism that Afghanistan was a failed state, saying his war-torn country could achieve success with the right approach. And he invited members of the Taliban movement that had no ties to al-Qaida and wanted peace to return to their country.

"We will invite all those Taliban, who are not part of al-Qaida, who are not part of terrorist networks, who want to return to their country, who want to live by the constitution of Afghanistan, and who want to have peace in the country and live a normal life to participate, to come back to their country," said Hamid Karzai. "And, I would request the international community to back us in this - fully²."

Mr. Karzai spoke³ during the final hours of a security conference in Munich that has touched on other critical issues - Iran's nuclear program, US relations with Russia and western Europe and last year's conflict between Russia and Georgia, among others.

U.S. National Security Adviser⁴ retired⁵ General James Jones told the conference that the NATO alliance must succeed in Afghanistan.

"We cannot afford failure in Afghanistan. And that's why the Obama administration will work closely with NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] and with the Afghan and Pakistani governments to forge a new comprehensive strategy to meet achievable goals," said James Jones. "And, this will be a shared effort with our allies. Afghanistan is not simply an American problem, it is an international problem."

The conference marked an opportunity for the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama to meet with key leaders and defense⁶ specialists from around the world.

That included talks Sunday between Vice⁷ President Joseph Biden and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov. Their discussions marked the highest level meeting between Russia and the United States since President Obama took office last month.

1 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 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。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 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。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。