VOA标准英语2013--美国部队继续驻扎在阿富汗

 

Continued US Troop Presence in Afghanistan in Doubt 美国部队继续驻扎在阿富汗

Delays in concluding a U.S.-Afghan security agreement have renewed debate in Washington over America's 12-year engagement and Afghanistan's future with or without a  foreign military presence. Whether any U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan after next year is very much in doubt.

A deal for a residual¹ U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan: it's what the Obama administration wants to finalize² with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki:

“We want him to sign it as quickly as possible," said Psaki.

Karzai has set new conditions and wants to delay signing the accord until after next year’s elections, prompting U.S. threats of a complete withdrawal³. The Afghan  leader is overplaying his hand, according to analyst⁴ Anthony Cordesman.

“This [Afghanistan] is no longer the focus of terrorism, it is not a focus of meaningful American strategic interest. And I think if you look at the amount of money  [spent], it vastly exceeded the strategic benefits," said  Cordesman.

“The Taliban has not gone away, it remains⁵ very resilient," said  Michael O’Hanlon.

Leaving Afghanistan entirely⁶ would be a mistake, according to analyst Michael O’Hanlon.

“We are partners in arms. We have been fighting and dying together against a common brutal⁷ foe⁸. We are working together to give 30-million Afghan citizens the hope of  a better future, and American citizens greater security that they will not be attacked by a terrorist organization," he said.

O’Hanlon compares the increasingly frosty relationship between the Obama and Karzai administrations to a “bad marriage”, but adds:

“Why do we want to throw away the sacrifice and the great investment we have made through the years with $600 billion in expenditures⁹, more than 2,000 lives lost, and  take a gamble that Afghanistan will not be a source of problems for us again?" he asked.

“If we suddenly cut off the Afghan government, there is a very serious risk that the country will divide and that the Taliban will be able to score major gains in the  east and the south," said Cordesman.

But security in Afghanistan could take a turn for the worse even with a bilateral¹⁰ agreement, according to Cordesman.

“There will not be a presence at any large, significant level after 2014 [even with an accord in effect]. You will have rolled up virtually every aid activity in the  field. You will be down to a very limited number of military posts, an embassy, and some consular¹¹ facilities. So when you talk about leaving, it is actually very  credible, because almost everything is leaving whether President Karzai signs or not," he said.

Cordesman says a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan would draw comparisons to America’s military disengagement from Iraq.  Potential dangers lurk¹² for President  Obama, according to Michael O’Hanlon.

“If we fail in the war that President Obama took ownership of and campaigned on as the right war to win, I think it will hurt his legacy," he said.

Whatever the potential consequences, the Obama administration says a complete U.S. troop withdrawal is a real possibility, and the time for signing an accord is  growing short.

1 residual   

adj.复播复映追加时间；存留下来的，剩余的

参考例句：

• There are still a few residual problems with the computer program.电脑程序还有一些残留问题。
• The resulting residual chromatism is known as secondary spectrum.所得到的剩余色差叫做二次光谱。

2 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

3 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。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 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。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

8 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

9 expenditures   

n.花费( expenditure的名词复数 )；使用；（尤指金钱的）支出额；（精力、时间、材料等的）耗费

参考例句：

• We have overspent.We'll have to let up our expenditures next month. 我们已经超支了，下个月一定得节约开支。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pension includes an allowance of fifty pounds for traffic expenditures. 年金中包括50镑交通费补贴。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

11 consular   

a.领事的

参考例句：

• He has rounded out twenty years in the consular service. 他在领事馆工作已整整20年了。
• Consular invoices are declarations made at the consulate of the importing country. 领事发票是进口国领事馆签发的一种申报书。

12 lurk   

n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏

参考例句：

• Dangers lurk in the path of wilderness.在这条荒野的小路上隐伏着危险。
• He thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.他觉得自己看见有人在演讲时潜藏在会议厅顶上。