VOA标准英语2009-Holbrooke Makes Case for Increased US Aid to Pak

President Barack Obama's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan has appealed to Congress to approve pending¹ legislation to provide Pakistan with billions of dollars in military and non-military aid. Testimony² to the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke also focused on differences with Congress about conditions lawmakers want to impose on Pakistan.
　
Richard Holbrooke, 18 Apr 2009

Mr. Holbrooke's testimony came as the Obama administration assesses growing threats from Taliban forces in Pakistan, and continues to fine tune³ its strategy for Afghanistan and the region generally.

Bills are pending in Congress to increase non-military economic and other aid as well as counter-terrorism and military training assistance to bolster⁴ the Pakistan military's ability to deal with the Taliban, including $400 million this year to establish a new Pakistan Counter-Insurgency Capability⁵ Fund.

But the administration and U.S. military have urged Congress not to impose conditions they assert could slow the process of forging a new strategic partnership⁶ with Pakistan.

Calling the House version of Pakistan aid legislation a very big improvement over previous legislation, Holbrooke nonetheless said certain provisions could increase misunderstandings in Pakistan about U.S. support.

"I greatly appreciate its motives⁷ but I do want to be sure that I am preserving [emphasizing] that there are things in it which Secretary Clinton and I and our colleagues do want to work with you on judicial⁸ system, law enforcement agencies, and public education system," said Richard Holbrooke.

Proposed legislation supports military aid, military education training, and hundreds of millions of dollars to strengthen Pakistan's Democratic institutions, judicial system law enforcement agencies and public education system. But the House version contains stronger requirements than a Senate version, and would require a presidential determination that Pakistan has demonstrated sustained commitment to fighting terrorist groups, including ceasing any support for these groups by any element within the Pakistani military or its intelligence agency.

Congress could cut off aid, although lawmakers give the president waiver authority. While prohibitions¹⁰ would not apply to counter terrorism efforts along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, lawmakers would require State Department concurrence¹¹ with assistance provided by the Pentagon, and would prevent funding from being used to purchase or upgrade F-16 fighter aircraft.

The House bill also specifies¹² that any aid from 2010 onward¹³ be provided only to a government in Islamabad constituted through a free and fair election, and requires Pakistani cooperation against nuclear supply networks.

Democratic Representative Howard Berman, the committee chairman, rejected suggestions that conditions were rigid¹⁴ or inflexible¹⁵.

"Ambassador Holbrooke, we are simply asking the Pakistanis to keep the commitments they have already made to fight the terrorists who threaten our national security and theirs, and that they make some progress doing so, with progress defined very broadly," said Howard Berman. "If the President is unable make that determination, or a second one relating to cooperation on nuclear nonproliferation then he can always take advantage of the waiver we provide. Which of these conditions are unreasonable¹⁶ or unattainable? And if they are, then what does that tell us about our relationship with Pakistan?

Representative Berman and others say they look forward to seeing proposed benchmarks for progress that the Obama administration has been working on.

As these statements by Republican Dana Rohrabacher and Democrat⁹ Gary Ackerman made clear, many remain skeptical¹⁷ about how committed, and cooperative, Pakistan's government and military are on counter-terrorism and other issues.

ROHRABACHER: "If Pakistan is unwilling¹⁸ to work together with us on something as significant as the nuclear weapons perhaps in the hands of terrorists who might do harm to the United States, well then they do not deserve our help."

ACKERMAN: "Let me be blunt. Pakistan's pants are on fire. That's bad of course. But things are actually much, much worse. Pakistan's leaders, rather than recognizing and moving to address the urgent danger to their Constitution and country, instead seem convinced that if left alone or attacked piecemeal¹⁹ the Islamist flame will simply burn itself out. That hope is at best folly²⁰."

Pointing to what he called an air of panic created in Pakistan by media reports regarding Taliban advances in the Swat Valley, Ambassador Holbrooke said Pakistan's president raised concerns with him on his arrival in Washington.
　
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari Enters Talks with U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee, 05 May 2009

Saying he wanted to dispel²¹ any doubts, Holbrooke took pains to underscore U.S. support for President Zardari.

"Pakistan is of such immense importance to the U.S strategically and politically that our goal must be unambiguously to support and help stabilize²² a Democratic Pakistan headed by its elected President, Asif Ali Zardari," he said.

Holbrooke described as untrue media reports suggesting the Obama administration is distancing itself from the Zardari government in favor of political rival and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Ambassador Holbrooke's testimony came as President Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai met were on Capitol Hill meeting with House and Senate lawmakers, ahead of talks with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

1 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

2 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

4 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

5 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

8 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

9 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

10 prohibitions   

禁令，禁律( prohibition的名词复数 )； 禁酒； 禁例

参考例句：

• Nowadays NO PARKING is the most ubiquitous of prohibitions. 今天，“NO PARKING”（禁止停车），几乎成了到处可见的禁止用语了。
• Inappropriate, excessive or capricious administration of aversive stimulation has led to scandals, lawsuits and prohibitions. 不恰当的、过度的或随意滥用厌恶性刺激会引起人们的反感、控告与抵制。

11 concurrence   

n.同意；并发

参考例句：

• There is a concurrence of opinion between them.他们的想法一致。
• The concurrence of their disappearances had to be more than coincidental.他们同时失踪肯定不仅仅是巧合。

12 specifies   

v.指定( specify的第三人称单数 )；详述；提出…的条件；使具有特性

参考例句：

• The third clause of the contract specifies steel sashes for the windows. 合同的第三款指定使用钢窗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

14 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

15 inflexible   

adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的

参考例句：

• Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
• The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。

16 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

17 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

18 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

19 piecemeal   

adj.零碎的；n.片，块；adv.逐渐地；v.弄成碎块

参考例句：

• A lack of narrative drive leaves the reader with piecemeal vignettes.叙述缺乏吸引力，读者读到的只是一些支离破碎的片段。
• Let's settle the matter at one stroke,not piecemeal.把这事一气儿解决了吧，别零敲碎打了。

20 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

21 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

22 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。