VOA标准英语2009年-Administration Concerned About US Public S

The Obama administration is keeping a close watch on developments in Afghanistan amidst rising violence and growing tensions surrounding last week's national elections. Meanwhile, U.S. military officials admit they are concerned about signs of slipping American public support for the Afghan war.
　
Joint¹ Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen gestures during a news conference at the Pentagon (File)

In an interview with CNN, America's top military officer, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen called the Afghan situation "serious and deteriorating²."

Later, on NBC's Meet the Press, he was asked about the impact conditions there are having on U.S. public opinion.

In a recent poll conducted by the Washington Post newspaper and the ABC broadcast network, just over 50 percent of respondents said the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting.

Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made clear the drop in support is worrisome.

"I am a Vietnam veteran myself," he said. "I am certainly aware of the criticality of support of the American people for this war and in fact any war. And certainly the numbers are of concern."

But Mullen emphasized the administration has a new strategy in place in Afghanistan, and is moving forward.

He stressed the threat posed by militants³ in the region is too great for the United States to pull out.

"Afghanistan is very vulnerable in terms of Taliban and extremists taking over again and I don't think that threat is going to go away," added Mullen. "They still plot against us, see us as somebody they want to kill in terms of as many American lives as possible."

The Obama administration deployed⁴ thousands of additional troops in Afghanistan this year. The new commander of U.S. forces there - General Stanley McChrystal - is expected to deliver his first formal assessment⁵ to the White House in a matter of weeks - a report which is likely to fuel further discussions on troop levels.

In an interview broadcast on ABC's This Week program, Senator John McCain - the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services committee - said a major influx⁶ of manpower is needed.

McCain said he wants to see McChrystal use the same aggressive approach employed during the troop surge in Iraq.

"I think he ought to do what General Petraeus did and that is decide on exactly the number he needs and we debate it [in Congress] and the president makes the ultimate decision," he said.

Security is part of a three-prong approach the Obama administration has adopted toward Afghanistan, along with political progress and promoting development.

Karl Eikenberry, a retired⁷ general, is the new U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. He told Meet the Press that last week's Afghan presidential election was historic, given the level of intimidation⁸ voters faced from the Taliban.

"I think it shows that there is great excitement in this country for the Afghans to regain⁹ control of their country, their sovereignty," Eikenberry. "We had a two month extraordinary election campaign that we just got through, a very exciting time in which there was unprecedented¹⁰ political activity."

Earlier, Eikenberry told CNN that there still is no firm figure on voter turnout for the Afghan election, acknowledging that Taliban intimidation had an impact, especially in southern Afghanistan.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

5 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

6 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

7 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。

8 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

9 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

10 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。