VOA标准英语2009年-Massive US Offensive Targets Taliban in So

The U.S. military in Afghanistan launched a major offensive in Taliban-controlled parts of southern Afghanistan Thursday, the first such operation under U.S. President Barack Obama's revamped strategy to defeat an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency¹.
　
US Marines take positions behind berm as medivac helicopter circles above after Marines arrived in night air assault in Helmand province, 02 Jul 2009

Thousands of U.S. Marines and hundreds of Afghan soldiers and police landed deep inside southern Helmand province under the cover of darkness in the early hours of Thursday, marking the beginning of operation Khanjar, or "Strike of the Sword."

"The combined U.S. and Afghan mission is to provide security for population centers along the Helmand river valley and to connect local citizens with their legitimate² government while establishing stable and secure conditions for national elections scheduled in August as well as to enhance security in the future," said Sergeant³ Charles Marsh⁴, a spokesman for the U.S. led coalition⁵.

The operation is the first major military offensive since President Barack Obama unveiled his new war strategy for Afghanistan. It involved nearly 4,000 newly arrived Marines and 650 Afghan soldiers who entered Helmand by air and ground transport. Last week, about 500 British troops led a mission to flush out militants⁶ in the province, a longtime Taliban stronghold and the top opium⁷ producing region in the country.
　
US Marines move in formation through farm fields after landing by helicopter in overnight air assault near Taliban stronghold of Nawa, Helmand province, 02 Jul 2009

The U.S. military says once Helmand is free of insurgents⁸, Afghan security forces will take over.

Jorrit Kamminga is senior policy analyst⁹ at the International Council on Security and Development. He says U.S. and NATO forces have tried repeatedly to grab and hold territory in Helmand province. Kamminga is doubtful this new effort, while bigger and bolder, will be successful without a plan to fulfill¹⁰ the needs of the local population.

"It's not only a matter of sending these troops in and keeping them in place. It's really what these military troops do when the fighting is over, basically when they have had the first successes against the Taliban insurgency. Then it's really important that the military also is involved in development, humanitarian¹¹ aid, really trying to build this hearts and minds strategy that we've been talking about for so many years now. But it really hasn't been implemented¹² successfully on the ground," he said.

One of President Obama's key goals in Afghanistan is to rebuild trust among local residents by avoiding civilian¹³ deaths, an extremely sensitive issue that has plagued international forces in Afghanistan who rely heavily on airstrikes to target militants.

The new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has said protecting Afghan civilians¹⁴ is a top priority under the revamped strategy to defeat an increasingly violent Taliban movement.

"Each of us must execute our mission with the realization¹⁵ that displaying respect, cultural sensitivity, accountability and transparency are essential in gaining the trust of the Afghan people. If we gain that trust, we cannot lose. If we lose that trust, we cannot win," he said.

The president's new war strategy also includes the deployment¹⁶ of an additional 21,000 U.S. troops and trainers. By the end of this year, the U.S. force in Afghanistan is expected to more than double to an estimated 68,000.

Helmand is strategic, lying along the Pakistan border, where the illicit¹⁷ opium trade flourishes and fighters and weapons move easily across the porous¹⁸ border.

Thursday's operation immediately caused concern in Pakistan. Hours after it began, the Pakistani military said it had re-deployed some of its troops to block militants who are on the run as a result of the Helmand offensive.

1 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

4 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

5 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。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

8 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

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

13 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。

14 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。

15 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

16 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。

17 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

18 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。