VOA标准英语2008年-US Military, Afghan President at Odds Over Airs
时间：2019-01-13 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2008年（八月）
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned 1 a U.S. airstrike in western Afghanistan that some Afghan officials say killed more than 70 civilians 3 on Thursday. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad that the U.S. military disputes the number of civilian 2 casualties and insists the operation was a successful strike against a wanted Taliban commander.
Hamid Karzai (file photo)
President Hamid Karzai's office issued a statement Saturday strongly condemning 4 what it called a "unilateral operation of Coalition 5 Forces" in the Shindand district of Herat Province.
The statement said local political and security officials reported at least 70 people, including women and children were killed in the airstrike.
The U.S. military disputes the civilian casualty figures and says troops called for airstrikes after a group of wanted militants 6 fired on a joint 7 patrol of coalition and Afghan forces.
U.S. coalition spokesman, First Lieutenant 8 Nathan Perry, told VOA the troops were able to search the compound following the battle to confirm the casualty figures.
He says five civilians, who were believed to be related to the militants, were among the 30 people killed in the strike.
"There was already a battlefield assessment 9 of this operation," said the spokesman. "We want to point out that this was an Afghan army operation. Coalition troops were in support of the Afghan operation. And after the operation, those troops on the ground were able to do a battlefield assessment. Not only did they confirm that they killed 25 militants, they also confirmed the main target that they were in pursuit of."
The spokesman said despite the initial battlefield assessment, U.S.-led coalition forces have launched an investigation 10 into the airstrike. Afghan officials have also called for an investigation.
Civilians deaths from U.S. airstrikes are a contentious 11 issue in Afghanistan and in recent months the Afghan government has been more assertive 12 in publicly rebuking 13 foreign allied 14 forces for civilian casualties.
President Karzai said Saturday that so far, Afghan efforts to stop civilian casualties have not had "desired outcomes." The president said the government will soon announce new initiatives for avoiding civilian deaths.
In the village in Herat where Thursday's airstrike occurred, hundreds of locals protested Saturday after rejecting offers of food and other aid from Afghan military troops. Local media reports said some of the protesters turned violent and soldiers fired on the crowd, injuring several people.
- There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
- He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
- 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。
- The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
- I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- 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。
- The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
- Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。
- I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
- We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
- 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。
- This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
- What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？
- In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
- He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
- She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
- Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。
- She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
- China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。
- Rebuking people who disagree with them. 指责和自己意见不同的人。
- We could hear the director rebuking Jim for being late from work again. 我们听得见主任在斥辞责吉姆上班又迟到了。