VOA标准英语2010年-Admiral Mullen: Afghanistan Can 'Turn'

The top U.S. military officer says critics who claim it will take years to even have a chance to defeat the Afghan insurgency¹ ignore the fact that a similar counterinsurgency strategy turned around a similarly difficult situation in Iraq in 2007. The chairman of the Joint² Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, spoke³ to reporters traveling with him to South and Central Asia Thursday.

 Admiral Mullen acknowledges that it may take years to fully⁴ defeat the Afghan insurgency. But he says that is not what the United States expects to accomplish by this time next year, when President Barack Obama has said he will begin to withdraw U.S. troops. But Mullen says the year-and-a-half the president allowed for the new strategy to prove itself is adequate.

"Insurgencies last a long time," said Mullen.  "But, as you look at how long it took to turn Iraq around, it was about 18 months.  Now, we're about two-and-a-half years later, and we're still working in Iraq. But it was sort of that period of time where it really turned. Turning it doesn't end it, [but] you've got to turn it to get it moving in the right direction."

The admiral says the situation in Iraq seemed impossible to resolve a few years ago, and, although the two countries are very different, and progress in Iraq is not a guarantee of progress in Afghanistan, it does give him reason to be hopeful about Afghanistan - even during the current period of heavy violence and, at best, slow progress.

"There are similarities and differences between Iraq and Afghanistan, and I understand that," added Mullen.  "But I don't accept the fact that, just because it takes insurgencies a long, long time [to be defeated], that we're not at a point where it can't be turned, because I think it can.  It doesn't mean it's going to be easy.  But, I think it can be [turned] over the period of time that we're talking about."

An Afghan couple with their donkey pass in front of a NATO patrol in Balamorghab district of Badghis Province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, 12 Apr 2010

U.S. officials acknowledge that, even if the situation in Afghanistan begins to turn during the next 12 months, the U.S. withdrawal⁵ will likely be very gradual, and some number of international troops will be needed in Afghanistan for many years to come.

Admiral Mullen welcomed the statement by Afghan President Hamid Karzai this week that he wants his forces to be able to take responsibility for security in the country by 2014.  Mullen said the goal sounds reasonable and that it is important for leaders to set such targets to focus the efforts of their governments.

The admiral spoke as he flew toward New Delhi, where Afghanistan will be among many issues he will discuss with Indian defense⁶ officials. It will be on the agenda again when he visits Pakistan later in the week, before heading into the war zone itself.
 

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 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 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。