VOA慢速英语--美国军方在将近20年后离开巴格拉姆机场

US to Leave Bagram Airfield¹ after 20 Years

For nearly 20 years, Bagram Airfield was the center of American military power in Afghanistan.

The base is located behind fences and protective walls just an hour's drive north of the Afghan capital, Kabul. At first, Bagram was a symbol of the campaign to seek those responsible for attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Then, the base became a symbol of its struggle for a way through the resulting war with the Taliban militant² group.

Soon, the last U.S. soldiers will leave Bagram.

Andrew Watkins is a senior expert on Afghanistan for the International Crisis Group in Brussels, Belgium. He said, "Bagram grew into such a massive military installation that, as with few other bases in Afghanistan and even Iraq, it came to symbolize³ and epitomize the phrase ‘mission creep'." Mission creep is a term that means the slow change over time of the goals of a military campaign.

American officials said last week that more than 50 percent of U.S. forces in Bagram have moved out. The rest will most likely be gone by July 4. The Afghan military will then take over Bagram as part of its continuing fight against the Taliban.

The U.S. withdrawal⁴ marks the second time a world power has come and gone from Bagram.

The former Soviet⁵ Union built the airfield in the 1950s. The Soviets⁶ invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to support a communist government. Bagram became their main base from which it would defend its occupation of Afghanistan. For 10 years, the Soviets fought the mujahadeen - Afghan fighters supported by the U.S.

The Soviet Union negotiated its withdrawal in 1989. Three years later, the pro-Soviet government collapsed⁷, and the mujahedeen took power. However, the mujahedeen soon began to fight among themselves and kill thousands of civilians⁸. That conflict brought to power the Taliban who captured Kabul in 1996.

When the U.S. and NATO took control of Bagram in 2001, they found it in ruins. Rocket- and- gunfire from battles between the Taliban and rival Afghan fighters had severely⁹ damaged the buildings. Most of the fencing around the base was destroyed.

After moving the Taliban from Kabul, the U.S.-led coalition¹⁰ began working with their allies to rebuild Bagram. The base quickly grew to a size of about 78 square kilometers.

Bill Roggio is a senior expert on Afghanistan at the Foundation for the Defense¹¹ of Democracies, a research group.

He said, "The closure of Bagram is a major symbolic¹² and strategic victory for the Taliban."

Roggio added, "If the Taliban is able to take control of the base, it will serve as anti-U.S. propaganda fodder¹³ for years to come."

For Afghans in the Bagram area, the base has been a major supplier of employment. The U.S. withdrawal affects nearly every household, said Darwaish Raufi, the Bagram area governor.

The Americans have also been giving the Afghan military some weapons and other material. Anything else that they are not taking, they are destroying and selling to parts dealers¹⁴ around Bagram. U.S. officials say they must make sure nothing usable can ever fall into Taliban hands.

Last week, the U.S. said it had thrown out 14,790 pieces of equipment and sent 763 C-17 aircraft loaded with material out of Afghanistan. Raufi said many villagers have complained to him about the U.S. leaving just their waste behind.

Michael Kugelman is deputy director of the Asia Program at the Wilson Center, a policy research group in Washington, D.C.

He said, "There's something sadly symbolic about how the U.S. has gone about leaving Bagram. The decision to take so much away and destroy so much of what is left speaks to the U.S. urgency to get out quickly."

Some have compared the U.S. withdrawal to that of the former Soviet Union.

Retired¹⁵ Afghan General Saifullah Safi worked alongside U.S. forces at Bagram. He said the Soviets left all their equipment when they withdrew. He added that they "didn't take much with them, just the vehicles they needed to transport their soldiers back to Russia."

Words in This Story

symbol - n. an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality

fodder - n. material that is used for a particular purpose

installation - n. something such as a piece of equipment that is put together and made ready for use

epitomize - v. to be a perfect example or representation of something; to be the epitome of something

1 airfield   

n.飞机场

参考例句：

• The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
• The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。

2 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。

3 symbolize   

vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表

参考例句：

• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。
• Dolphins symbolize the breath of life.海豚象征着生命的气息。

4 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。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

7 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

10 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。

11 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。

12 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

13 fodder   

n.草料；炮灰

参考例句：

• Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.割下来晒干用作饲料的草。
• Guaranteed salt intake, no matter which normal fodder.不管是那一种正常的草料，保证盐的摄取。

14 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

15 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。