VOA标准英语2013--US Troops to Hand Over Lead Fighting Role to Afghans

 

US Troops to Hand Over Lead Fighting Role to Afghans

Obama said American troops in Afghanistan will move to a supporting role several months earlier than expected.

“Our troops will have a different mission, training, advising, assisting Afghan forces. It will be an historic moment,” said Obama.

Karzai said after the handover, Afghan forces will be fully¹ responsible for security.

“International forces, the American forces, will be no longer present in Afghan villages, that the task will be that of the Afghan forces to provide for the Afghan people security and protection,” said Karzai.

The comments came several days after a senior Obama administration official suggested the U.S. may pull out all of its troops by the end of 2014.

Some analysts² argue such a move would jeopardize³ the gains made during more than a decade of war.

“To keep a zero option will undermine what has been accomplished⁴ in Afghanistan," said former Afghan ambassador to the U.S. Said Jawad.

Analysts say even in two years, Afghan security forces will not be ready to battle the Taliban without U.S. helicopters, medical facilities, intelligence and other critical support.

“This is going to be absolutely critical. Having air support is a morale⁵ builder, particularly for ground troops knowing that they can get out of a tight situation because they can call in air support,” said Marvin Weinbaum of the Middle East Institute.

Earlier, Karzai was welcomed at the Pentagon in an elaborate ceremony. He thanked Americans and NATO allies for their sacrifices.

The U.S. hopes the Taliban will reconcile with the Afghan government, although virtually no progress has been made.

“It is going to be hard enough to ultimately, if they ever get to that point, agree really to compromise on the substance of things. But right now even the framework for an agreement is just not in sight,” said Weinbaum.

Keeping forces after 2014 will require an agreement on the role of U.S. troops including legal immunity⁶ for them.

Senior military officials have called for a strong force, expressing concern that a rapid disengagement could cause Afghanistan’s security forces to crumble⁷.

While progress has been made to prevent insurgents⁸ from regaining⁹ territory, violence persists.

“Unfortunately we already see actually in some parts of Afghanistan continued presence of Taliban and relatively¹⁰ sustained activities of al-Qaida in eastern Afghanistan already,” said Jawad.

As Karzai wrapped up his visit, it appeared the sun already is setting on America’s long and costly¹¹ war in Afghanistan. 

1 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。

2 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。

3 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

4 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

5 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

6 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

7 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

8 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

9 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

10 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

11 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。