VOA英语2010年-US Enjoy Says He's Confident Pakistan

Washington's ambassador to Pakistan says the United States is confidents Pakistan will launch an anti-insurgency offensive in its border region of North Waziristan identified as the epicenter of global terrorism, despite strains on Pakistan's armed forces.

U.S. ambassador to Islamabad, Cameron Munter, says the United States has been talking closely with the Pakistani military about launching an offensive in North Waziristan.

The United States believes the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani network of Afghan Taliban has established bases in North Waziristan and its fighters are involved in deadly attacks on coalition¹ forces fighting Taliban insurgents² in Afghanistan.

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The U.S. ambassador acknowledged that Pakistani security forces have made significant counter-terrorism efforts within the past two years but he emphasized that dealing³ with the militant⁴ safe havens⁵ in the Waziristan district is crucial for efforts to stabilize⁶ Afghanistan.

"We see these people (militants⁷) as our common enemy but we understand that the decision has to be made by the leadership of the Pakistani military," Munter said. "Even though this sounds like a contradiction, it is not. We would like them to move tomorrow, we would like them to take out these people tomorrow. But we understand they are telling us honestly about the capacity of their military and when they are able, we are convinced they will move in."

Pakistan has long resisted U.S. pressure to mobilize forces against these militants, saying it needs to consolidate⁸ military gains in other tribal⁹ districts along the Afghan border before it can open a front in the Waziristan region.

But ambassador Munter says his country understands Pakistan's current limitations and is working closely with its leaders to enhance the counter-insurgency capacity of the country.

"I think, there is, yes, a great amount of capacity being used in holding the ground that the Pakistani army has won at great cost," he added. "And in that sense I think it would be incorrect to define the question about North Waziristan as a question simply of will rather than capacity. I think it is wrong. I think there is a capacity issue."

The U.S. ambassador spoke¹⁰ to reporters a day after the Obama administration made public its annual review of the of the troop surge strategy in Afghanistan. The summary of the review says coalition forces have made "notable operation gains" in Afghanistan. Taliban insurgents have dismissed the U.S. review as "propaganda designed to create baseless hope".

The U.S. review of its strategy says progress against insurgents has not come fast enough on the Pakistani side of the border.

But Pakistani Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, has dismissed the criticism his country is not doing enough to fight extremists.

"If you see the statistics in terms of the casualties and injuries, it is Pakistan which has suffered the most in the world," said Malik. "We have done a lot. We are suffering in terms of our economy and obviously it is affecting our common man in the country."

Pakistan says that since joining the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan in late 2001and moving forces against militants in it border region, extremists have launched relentless¹¹ suicide and other terrorist attacks across the country killing¹² thousands of people, including a large number of security forces.

Pakistani officials say that the economy has also suffered billions of dollars of losses because the deteriorating¹³ security situation has discouraged much needed foreign investments in the country.

1 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。

2 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

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

5 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 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。

8 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

9 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。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

13 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。