VOA标准英语2009年-Afghan Minister: 'We Agree with McChrystal

By Margaret Besheer
United Nations
29 September 2009

Afghanistan's foreign minister told the United Nations General Assembly that his government welcomes the assessment¹ from the U.S. and NATO commander in his country that more troops are needed to fight the Taliban. Meanwhile, as the annual debate continued on Monday, ousted² Honduran President Manuel Zelaya addressed delegates by mobile telephone from the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, where he has taken refuse since last week.

 
Afghanistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Rangin Dadfar Spanta addresses 64th session of UN General Assembly, 28 Sep 2009
Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta expressed his government's support for U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal's recommendation that President Barack Obama send more troops to help defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan fully³ endorses⁴ President Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as the new assessment by General McChrystal -- particularly their emphasis on the need for a comprehensive and long-term strategy," Spanta said.

President Obama sent an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan earlier this year. But General McChrystal has warned that more are needed.

On the contested outcome of last month's presidential election in Afghanistan, Spanta said voting "irregularities" are not unusual in emerging democracies and that the Independent Electoral Commission and the U.N.-supported Election Complaint Commission are working to address the complaints and recount some of the ballots⁵.

Meanwhile, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya addressed the assembly by mobile telephone from the Brazilian Embassy in his country's capital. He is trying to avoid arrest by the interim⁶ authorities that overthrew⁷ him in a military-backed coup⁸ in June. His foreign minister took the podium and held the phone with Mr. Zelaya on the line. He is appealing to the United Nations for help.

"I call on the United Nations, an operation to restore the rule of law and the freedom Hondurans deserve," Zelaya said. "I call on the United Nations to provide support, for the civilized⁹ nations of the world to maintain a firm position against barbarity. And I also request the United Nations to give guarantees for our own personal integrity, as well as the lives of the people who are being attacked with chemical gases, with electronic interference at this diplomatic site of the sister Republic of Brazil."

Meanwhile, Cuba's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez, said the Obama administration has done little to improve U.S.-Cuban relations. Although he called the U.S. decision to lift restrictions¹¹ on Cuban-Americans to visit or send money to relatives in Cuba a "positive step," Rodriguez said it was "insufficient¹²." He said many issues had not been addressed, including the nearly 50-year U.S. imposed embargo¹³ of the island nation.

Turning to Asia, Burma's Prime Minister, Thein Sein, said Western economic sanctions against his country are politically motivated and should be lifted. He is heard here through a translator.

"Sanctions are being employed as a political tool against Myanmar and we consider them unjust," he said. "I would like to state that such acts must be stopped."

Burma is also known as Myanmar.

Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States would pursue direct engagement with Burmese authorities, but that the U.S. would continue to employ sanctions.

Thein Sein is the highest ranking Burmese official to attend the General Assembly in 14 years. He said his country is taking steps toward holding "free and fair elections" next year, but he cautioned that other states should not interfere¹⁰ in Burma's transition to democracy. Many observers are skeptical¹⁴ that those elections will be credible¹⁵.

And North Korea's Vice¹⁶ Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pak Kil Yon, said his country is not seeking an "arms race," but that it possesses a "dependable nuclear deterrent," which could "possibly prevent war and defend peace." He said Pyongyang would react to "dialogue with dialogue" but warned it would respond to "sanctions by strengthening its nuclear deterrence¹⁷."

1 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？

2 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

3 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。

4 endorses   

v.赞同( endorse的第三人称单数 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• There isn't one country in the Middle East that now endorses the Eisenhower Doctrine. 但至今没有一个中东国家认可它。 来自辞典例句
• Whether any of this truly endorses Dr Patel's hypothesis is moot. 这些视频能否真正证明帕特的假设成立还是个未知数。 来自互联网

5 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

7 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

8 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

9 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

10 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

13 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

14 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。

15 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

16 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。

17 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。