VOA标准英语2009年-ISAF, Afghan Forces Mobilized for Election

The Australian military officer responsible for the international effort to help provide security for Thursday's Afghan presidential election says he is concerned about the potential for insurgent¹ attacks on polling stations, but he believes Afghan and international security forces have prepared well to keep violence to a minimum. The officer spoke² via satellite from Kabul to reporters at the Pentagon.
　
ISAF soldiers and Afghan police next to destroyed cars at the scene of a suicide attack on the outskirts³ of Kabul, 18 Aug 2009

Brigadier General Damian Cantwell says Afghan, NATO and other international forces have been rehearsing their election security plan, and acting⁴ out various potential scenarios⁵.

"We're never quite sure what the enemy will do, but we do have a series of solid plans in place," said General Cantwell.

General Cantwell says Afghan police will be in and around the 6,500 polling stations, Afghan soldiers will man an outer perimeter⁶ and ISAF, the International Security Assistance Force, will be nearby to help if needed. But officials acknowledge attacks by the Taliban and affiliated⁷ groups have increased this week to nearly 50 per day nationwide, on average. General Cantwell acknowledges that is a cause for concern.

"The threat itself might be manifested in its most dangerous form in those sorts of tactics we've seen in suicide bombing in populated areas," he said. "And therefore we're doing everything we can to mitigate⁸ against those risks."

The general says the Afghan government and the insurgents⁹ are battling for the minds of the Afghan people, with the government trying to instill confidence and convince people to vote, and the insurgents trying to instill fear and keep the people at home on Election Day.

"Obviously those sorts of incidents that occurred today, tragically¹⁰, and also last Saturday, will probably cause some citizens to have some concerns about moving forward and taking part in the election on the day," said Cantwell. "But this is a very hardy¹¹ and resilient people. And they're quite used to hearing and seeing acts of violence. And they're quite used to seeing checkpoints and roadblocks in place. It's all understood to be part of the effort by the Afghan security partners to develop a sense of community confidence."

The general predicts that 85 to 90 per cent of Afghan voters should be able to go to the polls, with only those in Taliban-controlled areas missing out. He says election security is the top priority for international and Afghan forces, and they have decided¹² not to engage in any offensive operations on Thursday in order to make all their forces available.

"The ministers and the senior officers in charge of the ANA [Afghan National Army] and ANP [Afghan National Police] really haven't left much in reserve, so to speak, and they are fully¹³ committed to the task that's set before them," he said.

General Cantwell says while Afghan forces have the lead for election security on the ground, ISAF will provide the ability to observe key areas from the air, and to respond quickly to any emergency. In all, officials say, nearly 300,000 security forces will be involved in the election operation.

1 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

2 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。

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

7 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

8 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

9 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

10 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

11 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 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。