VOA标准英语2010年-Pentagon Intelligence Chief Urges Paki

The top US defense¹ intelligence officer says it is not clear how successful Pakistan's military operations have been in reducing the Taliban threat to US and NATO troops. The chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency tells VOA the Pakistani army should keep up the pressure.

Gary Thomas | Washington 11 January 2010

 
Pakistan army soldiers patrol in Kabal, a village of Pakistan's Swat Valley, which used to be a Taliban stronghold (File)

 "I think that we have been very successful in our operations in Afghanistan, and I think that our Pakistani partners have been fairly successful in some of their undertakings²." - US Defense Intelligence Agency Chief Ronald Burgess

Lieutenant³ General Ronald Burgess said there have been notable successes against the Taliban and al-Qaida by U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Pakistani troops on the other side of the border in South Waziristan and Swat.

"I think that we have been very successful in our operations in Afghanistan, and I think that our Pakistani partners have been fairly successful in some of their undertakings," he said.  "But what we see happening with al-Qaida is that they still have the ability, working with the Taliban and some of the other groups in there, to cause pain and to bring about some of the more spectacular events that may occur from time to time," he added.

 

 
DoD
Lieutenant General Ronald Burgess, US Defense Intelligence Agency Chief

In an exclusive VOA interview, General Burgess says it is not clear how much the Pakistani military operations have reduced the threat to American and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

"What is unclear to me as I look at it as an intelligence professional is how many of the enemy have actually been taken off the board, so to speak.  Or has the enemy melted away into the countryside or moved to another location?" Burgess asked.  "While there is always something to be gained by forcing an enemy out of its sanctuary⁴, at the end of the day I think this is an enemy that you are going to have to kill," he said.

Pakistan's military - reluctantly, according to many American analysts⁵ - began a ground offensive in October to clear out the terrorist sanctuaries⁶ in the South Waziristan area of Pakistan's tribal⁷ lands. 

On the other side of the border, General Burgess said there is not as much of a traditional lull⁸ in fighting in Afghanistan's winter months as in previous years.

"The enemy always has a vote.  In the past we have seen a drawdown, if you will, in terms of their activities over what we would call the winter months.  We Are not sure we are going to see that as much this winter," he said.  "We expect to see the numbers this winter, in terms of engagements and casualties if you will, to be up over last winter.  But I think you will not see the numbers that you saw, for example, during the summertime just because of the nature of the seasons over there," he said.

A nagging⁹ question remains¹⁰ of whether Pakistan is helping¹¹ the Taliban as part of a grand strategy to thwart¹² growing influence in Afghanistan by Pakistan's arch-rival India.  The allegation is common among many Western analysts, but Pakistan denies it.

General Burgess says he takes Pakistan's top leaders at their word.  But, he adds, lower-ranking officers of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, the ISI, may be helping the militants¹³ without official sanction.

"They say that there is no official relationship that exists with those [groups]," he said.  "But that is not to say that inside an intelligence organization that at some lower level, as far down as you might want to go, that someone does still not have an old relationship that may have spanned the last 15 or 20 years.  That is somewhat in the nature of the intelligence business.  But I am comfortable that there is no official connection that I see at this time," said Burgess.

 

 
AP
Afghans chant anti American slogans in Kabul, Afghanistan during a protest against killings¹⁴ of 10 civilians¹⁵ allegedly by coalition¹⁶ forces in Kunar province, 30 Dec 2009

A just-released report by the chief of U.S. military intelligence in Afghanistan calls military intelligence efforts there token and ineffectual.  In the report - released without Pentagon approval - Major General Michael Flynn said analysts focus almost exclusively on insurgent¹⁷ groups, but know little about the social and political environment in which they operate.

General Burgess says he would have preferred the issue to have been kept within the intelligence family, calling the report's release outside of official channels "unusual".  He says he does not agree with all of General Flynn's recommendations, but says they deserve serious study since he is the top military intelligence officer in Afghanistan.

"As the J-2 [intelligence chief] he has identified some of those shortcomings.  And so now we as entity¹⁸ need to address some of those.  But at the end of the day he, as the J-2 on the ground, has to allocate¹⁹ the resources to get the information the commander needs," he said.

General Burgess says DIA is also studying what lessons it can learn from the December 30 suicide bombing at a CIA base in Afghanistan that killed 7 CIA officers and a Jordanian intelligence official.

"We all have folks on the ground out there doing that type of mission.  And what we have taken that to do for us here inside the Defense Intelligence Agency is, "Okay, what facts can we glean²⁰ from that?" He asked.  "And because we are a learning organization, what can we take from that and apply to our tactics, techniques, and procedures to ensure that we try to mitigate²¹ the possibility of something like that happening?  But, you know, this is war," he concluded.

About 30,000 additional U.S. troops are being deployed²² to Afghanistan in the coming months as part of a new strategy.  An undisclosed number of them will be military intelligence personnel.
 

1 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。

2 undertakings   

企业( undertaking的名词复数 )； 保证； 殡仪业； 任务

参考例句：

• The principle of diligence and frugality applies to all undertakings. 勤俭节约的原则适用于一切事业。
• Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight of military operations. 此举要求军事上战役中所需要的准确布置和预见。

3 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

4 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

7 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

8 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

9 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

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 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。

17 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

18 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

19 allocate   

vt.分配，分派；把…拨给；把…划归

参考例句：

• You must allocate the money carefully.你们必须谨慎地分配钱。
• They will allocate fund for housing.他们将拨出经费建房。

20 glean   

v.收集(消息、资料、情报等)

参考例句：

• The little information that we could glean about them was largely contradictory.我们能够收集到的有关它们的少量信息大部分是自相矛盾的。
• From what I was able to glean,it appears they don't intend to take any action yet.根据我所收集到的资料分析，他们看来还不打算采取任何行动。

21 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

22 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。