VOA慢速英语2009年-IN THE NEWS - 'Not Just America's War,

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

American forces in Afghanistan have launched their first offensive since President Obama announced more troops for the war. On Friday, military officials said more than one thousand NATO troops, mostly Americans, launched the operation with Afghan forces. Troops moved in to clear Taliban insurgents¹ and explosives from the Now Zad valley in the southern province of Helmand.

U.S. Marines near Khan Nashin, Helmand province, Friday

On Tuesday President Obama told Americans that thirty thousand more troops will go to Afghanistan as fast as possible. And he announced that after eighteen months, in July of two thousand eleven, "our troops will begin to come home."

He called Afghanistan and Pakistan the "epicenter" of violent extremism by al-Qaida. He said the terrorist group that attacked the United States eight years ago is plotting new attacks. And he warned, "This is not just America's war."

He said the people and governments of both Afghanistan and Pakistan are endangered. The risks are even higher, he said, within a nuclear-armed Pakistan.

The thirty thousand will bring the number of American troops in Afghanistan to about one hundred thousand. Almost forty thousand other foreign troops are also there under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

On Friday, NATO announced that at least twenty-five countries will send about seven thousand additional forces next year. American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an appeal to NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium.

President Obama spent three months considering his decision. He said one of the goals is to train Afghan security forces to take responsibility for their own security. Setting a date to begin removing troops is meant to put pressure on the government of President Hamid Karzai to take responsibility.

President Obama gave his speech to future Army officers at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York

BARACK OBAMA: "We must deny al-Qaida a safe haven². We must reverse the Taliban's momentum³ and deny it the ability to overthrow⁴ the government. And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan's security forces and government, so that they can take lead responsibility for Afghanistan's future."

Public opinion surveys show that the war has grown increasingly unpopular with Americans. In Congress, the troop increase is unpopular with some liberal Democrats⁵. Cost is one concern. The president estimated the cost of the new plan at about thirty billion dollars this year. Some in his party argue that the money should go instead to economic recovery.

Republicans in Congress who support the troop increase criticized the president for setting a date to start a pullout. But Defense⁶ Secretary Robert Gates said July of two thousand eleven "will be the beginning of a process" that will depend on conditions in Afghanistan.

For many Americans, finding a job and getting health care are the top concerns -- as the president recognized in his speech.

BARACK OBAMA: "This is why our troop commitment in Afghanistan cannot be open-ended, because the nation that I am most interested in building is our own."

On Friday, the Labor⁷ Department in Washington said the unemployment rate decreased by two-tenths of one percent in November to ten percent. The monthly report said the nation lost eleven thousand jobs -- far fewer than expected. It was the best report since two thousand seven.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 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

2 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

4 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。