VOA标准英语 US Defense Chief: US Must Not Lose Support of Afghan

Afghan President Hamid Karzai summoned the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan on Thursday to demand an explanation for continuing civilian¹ casualties caused by coalition² troops. The commander, Army General David McKiernan, expressed "deep regret" about accidental killings³ in two recent incidents, and pledged to continue efforts to avoid such civilian casualties. The issue has also gotten attention from U.S. Defense⁴ Secretary Robert Gates.
　
Afghan President Hamid Karzai (file photo)

U.S. defense officials have been focused on the civilian casualty issue for a long time. But they say it is difficult to prevent all civilian casualties because insurgents⁵ often hide among civilians⁶ and sometimes try to deceive coalition forces into firing on them.

In addition, the shortage of coalition troops in Afghanistan has caused a higher reliance on air strikes, which are more likely to cause what the military calls "collateral⁷ damage."

That was the case in the most recent incident. NATO says six civilians died in an air strike on Monday in Kunar Province in eastern Afghanistan.
　
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates (file photo)

In a conversation on Wednesday with U.S. troops, many of them recently returned from Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates called the civilian casualties "a serious problem," and said he has told his commander in Kabul that protecting Afghan civilians must be one of his main concerns.

"General McKiernan has taken some significant steps in terms of changing the way we go about our operations in Afghanistan, including by the Special Forces, to try and take even further measures to avoid civilian casualties and to avoid antagonizing the local population. This is something I worry about a lot. If we lose the Afghan people, we have lost the war," he said.

Secretary Gates also called for better cooperation between military units in Afghanistan and the joint⁸ civilian-military Provincial⁹ Reconstruction¹⁰ Teams. He acknowledged that when military operations kill civilians or destroy local facilities, they hurt the effort to improve the lives of local people and earn their trust and support.

"I am very concerned [about] how do we keep the Afghan people on our side by helping¹¹ them understand that we are on their side? And so one of the things that I have talked to General McKiernan about, and that he is taking very seriously, is how do we partner on virtually all of these operations so that if somebody's knocking down the door, it is an Afghan knocking down the door, not an American, or not a German or somebody else? And I think we have made a lot of strides in that," said Gates.
　
US soldier with NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) patrols Farah province (file photo)

In order to give Afghan troops a more prominent role in providing security for their own people, the U.S. and Afghan governments are working to nearly double the size of the Afghan Army to 120,000 troops.

But that will take years. In the meantime, the United States is increasing its troop presence in Afghanistan this year by about 50 percent, and other coalition countries are making smaller increases.

The top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, told ABC television's Good Morning America program this week that the goal is for foreign forces to provide better security for Afghans in the short term and to train Afghan troops to do as much of the job as quickly as possible.
　
Admiral Mike Mullen, 31 Mar¹² 2009

"We need the combat troops to provide security for the Afghan people, which is what is missing right now, particularly in southern Afghanistan. And we need the trainers to train the Afghan army and the Afghan police, so that they can take the lead in providing for that security. In the long run, that is really the solution to the security challenge that is there to take care of the Afghan people, who I believe are the center of gravity of this whole situation in Afghanistan," said Admiral Mullen.

The increase in troops will also mean more ground operations and possibly fewer air strikes - the kind of attack that most often causes civilian casualties.

1 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。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 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。

5 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

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

8 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。

9 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

10 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

11 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。

12 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。