VOA标准英语2009年-Implementing 'Smart Power' in Afghanistan

By David Axe¹
Wardak Province, Afghanistan
16 September 2009

Analysts² and policy makers³ call it "smart power" -- a seamless blend of investment, good deeds and military force that is intended to win friends while targeting enemies in war. In 2007, the U.S. Defense⁴ Department officially embraced this philosophy. But on the ground in Afghanistan, U.S. forces are finding it difficult to be humanitarians⁶ and builders as well as soldiers.

 
US Army soldiers in Afghanistan
Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division march into Kowt-e-Ashrow in Wardak Province, southwest of Kabul.

Wardak has seen bloody⁷ fighting in recent months as the Taliban expands its presence and U.S. reinforcements trickle⁸ in. Heavily armed American patrols are a common sight in local villages.

This day, Afghan and American soldiers have come bearing gifts.

School supplies for children, election materials for adults and tiny Afghan flags for everyone.

The aid is part of a two-year-old strategy for boosting the popularity of U.S.-led forces among everyday Afghans. It is an approach that the Pentagon and Army Command Sergent Major Andrew Spano of the 10th Mountain Division hope will turn the Afghan people against the Taliban.

"We focus our young leaders on how to take the 'human terrain⁹' away from the enemies of Afghanistan," Spano explains, "The human terrain being the people of this country."

U.S. Secertary of Defense Robert Gates first championed this friends-first strategy two years ago. He called it, "smart power" as in a smart mix of combat, aid, reconstruction¹⁰ and diplomacy¹¹.

But on the ground in Wardak, some soldiers say smart power is not working.

Infantrymen are some of the toughest critics. They have spent most of their time training for firefights, not aid work. Before deploying¹³, Command Sergent Major Andrew Spano says they received a crash course in interacting with the Afghan people. "Anything that takes you away from our normal infantry¹² tasks can be difficult," he says, "But when we trained; we did exercises -- the brigade spent a lot of money using American citizens of Afghan descent to be role players. That helped us be ready."

Still, many soldiers say they typically do not spend enough time in one community to build lasting¹⁴ ties with the Afghan people. Company commanders are expected to build personal relationships with local leaders. But these in-demand leaders come and go every six months.

Army Lieutenant¹⁵ Colonel Kimo Gallahue says coalition¹⁶ forces are spread too thin to make smart power work. "There was only one rifle company here to augment¹⁷ and assist Afghan security forces," he says, "Counter-insurgency in Afghanistan requires boots on the ground. That's where we're at."

And, Gallahue says, with violence escalating¹⁸, many Army units do not have the time to conduct humanitarian⁵ and development work. "Security has to come first. And right behind that is development and governance," he states.

 

1 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

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 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

6 humanitarians   

n.慈善家( humanitarian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finally, humanitarians saw it as a means of helping to feed the hungry of the world. 人道主义者把这一计划看成是为世界上那些忍饥挨饿的人提供粮食的一项措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• All humanitarians fought against slavery. 所有人道主义者都为反对奴隶制而斗争过。 来自互联网

7 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

8 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

9 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

10 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

11 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

12 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

13 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

14 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

15 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

16 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。

17 augment   

vt.(使)增大，增加，增长，扩张

参考例句：

• They hit upon another idea to augment their income.他们又想出一个增加收入的办法。
• The government's first concern was to augment the army and auxiliary forces.政府首先关心的是增强军队和辅助的力量。

18 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句