阿富汗：為何塔利班無法被擊敗：英語精讀講義

Afghanistan is the longest war in American history. 文法

阿富汗戰爭是美國歷史上最長的戰爭。

After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001,

在2001年9月11日的恐怖攻擊之後，

America and its allies invaded the country.

美國及其盟友入侵了該國。

The Taliban,

塔利班，

the hardline Islamist group that ruled over Afghanistan,

統治阿富汗的強硬伊斯蘭組織，

had sheltered al-Qaeda and its leader, 文法

庇護了蓋達組織及其領導人，

Osama bin Laden.

奧薩瑪·賓·拉登。

Nearly 20 years later, 表達脈絡

近20年後，

the conflict has achieved very little.

這場衝突幾乎沒有任何成效。

It's a country in ruin.

這是一個滿目瘡痍的國家。

The Taliban still controls much of it.

塔利班仍控制著大部分地區。

And the war is showing no signs of slowing down. 片語搭配

而且戰爭沒有絲毫放緩的跡象。

So, levels of violence are enormous.

因此，暴力程度極高。

In 2018,

在2018年，

25,000 people died in Afghanistan.

有25,000人在阿富汗喪生。

So,

那麼，

what has made America's war in Afghanistan unwinnable? 表達脈絡

是什麼讓美國在阿富汗的戰爭無法獲勝？

Afghanistan has been mired in conflict for over 40 years. 慣用語

阿富汗陷入衝突已超過40年。

In 1979,

1979年，

the Soviet Union invaded the country to support the Afghan communist regime.

蘇聯入侵該國以支持阿富汗共產主義政權。

In response, 表達脈絡

作為回應，

America funded Mujahideen rebels to fight the Soviet forces

美國資助聖戰士叛軍對抗蘇聯軍隊

as part of an American proxy war. 用詞

作為美國代理人戰爭的一部分。

In 1989,

1989年，

Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan,

蘇聯軍隊從阿富汗撤軍，

which sparked years of infighting among tribal warlords. 片語搭配

這引發了部落軍閥之間多年的內鬥。

The chaos created fertile ground for the Taliban to grab power, 講解

混亂為塔利班奪取政權創造了肥沃的土壤，

and in 1996,

在1996年，

they took control of Kabul,

他們控制了喀布爾，

Afghanistan's capital,

阿富汗的首都，

and established themselves as the government in much of the country. 片語搭配

並在該國大部分地區確立了自己作為政府的地位。

Three years after the American invasion in 2001,

在2001年美國入侵三年後，

democratic elections were held in the country.

該國舉行了民主選舉。

But neither military reinforcement nor peace talks have ended the fighting. 文法

但軍事增援與和平談判都未能結束戰鬥。

So,

因此，

every president in their own way has tried to win the war in Afghanistan.

每一位總統都以自己的方式試圖贏得阿富汗戰爭。

They've put troops in, 表達脈絡

他們投入了軍隊，

they've taken troops out.

他們撤出了軍隊。

None of them have really managed to fundamentally change the course of the war itself. 慣用語

但沒有一人真正能夠從根本上改變戰爭本身的進程。

My fellow citizens, 語氣意圖

我的同胞們，

events in Iraq have now reached the final days of decision.

伊拉克的局勢現在已到了最後決斷的日子。

President George W. Bush pulled resources away from Afghanistan to focus on his war in Iraq. 片語搭配

喬治·W·布希總統將資源從阿富汗撤出，集中精力應對他在伊拉克的戰爭。

In one of the most difficult decisions that I've made as president, 文法

在作為總統所做出的最艱難的決定之一中，

I ordered an additional 30,000 American troops into Afghanistan.

我下令向阿富汗增派30,000名美軍。

President Barack Obama put huge amounts of troops into Afghanistan

巴拉克·歐巴馬總統向阿富汗派遣了大量軍隊

to try and knock the Taliban into a deal to try and win the war there. 講解

試圖迫使塔利班達成協議，以試圖贏得那裡的戰爭。

And the American presence hasn't been all bad. 語氣意圖

而且美國的存在也並非全無是處。

For all the good they've done, 文法

儘管他們做了許多好事，

allowing girls to go back to school,

允許女孩重返學校，

creating a democratic government,

建立了一個民主政府，

there's no real sense in which much of that can survive 文法

但在美國人離開且資金枯竭之後，

beyond the period in which the Americans leave and the funds dry up. 片語動詞

這些成果大部分能否存續下去還很難說。

That's because the Taliban are now in control of more of Afghanistan since 2001.

那是因為自2001年以來，塔利班現在控制了阿富汗更多的地方。

Today,

今天，

almost 18% of all Afghan districts are under Taliban control, 片語搭配

阿富汗幾乎18%的地區在塔利班控制之下，

and 48% are contested.

48%的地區存在爭議。

How have they been able to extend their power? 表達脈絡

他們是如何能夠擴展勢力的？

The Taliban don't have military might.

塔利班沒有強大的軍事力量。

They don't have warplanes or tanks or advanced equipment.

他們沒有戰機、坦克或先進裝備。

What they do have is local legitimacy. 文法

他們擁有的是當地的合法性。

They have persuaded many people

他們已經說服了許多人，

that their version of swift Islamic justice is more legitimate than the corrupt Afghan government. 文法

讓他們相信其所施行的迅速的伊斯蘭司法比腐敗的阿富汗政府更為正當。

And they've been propped up by neighboring Pakistan. 片語動詞

而且他們一直得到鄰國巴基斯坦的支持。

Some people will say Pakistan,

有些人會說，巴基斯坦，

which helped form the Taliban in the early 1990s,

在20世紀90年代初幫助組建了塔利班，

was too committed to helping their Islamist allies survive. 文法

太過於執著地幫助其伊斯蘭盟友生存。

They sheltered the Taliban leadership in Pakistan.

他們在巴基斯坦庇護了塔利班領導層。

They gave arms and weapons to the Taliban to help them gain support in Afghanistan. 片語搭配

他們向塔利班提供武器裝備，幫助他們在阿富汗獲得支持。

There is also drug

還有毒品的

money.

資金。

90% of the world's heroin comes from Afghanistan,

世界上90%的海洛因來自阿富汗，

and this is a strong source of funding for the Taliban. 片語搭配

這是塔利班強大的資金來源。

Opium has been a big part of the war has been a part of the conflict economy.

鴉片一直是戰爭的重要組成部分，也是戰亂經濟的一部分。

The profits help fund them,

這些利潤幫助資助了他們，

making the Taliban one of the wealthiest armed non-state groups in the world. 講解

使得塔利班成為世界上最富有的非國家武裝團體之一。

Efforts to destroy the opium crop effectively destroyed the livelihoods of farmers

摧毀鴉片作物的行動實際上摧毀了農民的生計

and in some cases made them more sympathetic to the Taliban. 文法

在某些情況下甚至讓他們對塔利班更加同情。

And more hostile to the government the Americans installed after 2001.

並且對美國在2001年後扶持的政府更加敵視。

People will say that the West created an overly centralized, 用詞

人們會說西方在阿富汗建立了一個過度集權、

domineering state in Afghanistan

專橫的國家，

run by an overly powerful president who didn't pay attention to the ethnic, 片語搭配

由一位過於強勢的總統領導，他沒有注意到這個國家的民族、

tribal,

部落、

social heterogeneity of the country. 用詞

社會的多樣性。

I think all of these were reasons,

我認為所有這些都是原因，

but I think it's also the case that 表達脈絡

但我也認為是這樣，

no big counterinsurgency campaign with lots of troops 用詞

投入大量軍隊的大型反叛亂行動，

has ever really worked in a society like Afghanistan in recent years.

近年來在像阿富汗這樣的社會中從未真正奏效過。

Is it time for America to leave? 表達脈絡

美國是時候離開了嗎？

President Donald Trump has been trying to strike a deal with the Taliban 片語搭配

唐納·川普總統一直試圖與塔利班達成協議

to reduce the amount of American troops in Afghanistan.

以減少在阿富汗的美軍數量。

Donald Trump kicked off the most serious negotiations 片語動詞

唐納·川普啟動了

between America and the Taliban that have ever occurred,

美國和塔利班之間發生過的最嚴肅的談判，

only to have decided to walk away at the last minute. 講解

卻在最後一刻決定退出。

As both parties were about to meet in September 2019, 文法

就在雙方準備於2019年9月會面時，

a Taliban attack killed an American soldier.

一次塔利班攻擊導致一名美軍士兵喪生。

Donald Trump doesn't want to go into his election

唐納·川普不想帶著

with 14,000 troops in Afghanistan.

14,000名駐阿富汗美軍進入大選。

If America is seen to be in a rush, 片語搭配

如果美國表現出急於離開的樣子，

the Taliban will simply count down the clock until everyone leaves

塔利班就會等著耗時間，直到所有人都離開

and they can take over Afghanistan. 片語動詞

然後他們就可以接管阿富汗。

If and when the Trump administration and the Taliban strike a deal, 文法

如果川普政府和塔利班達成協議，

the worry is that Mr. Trump will quickly reduce troops in Afghanistan

人們擔心川普先生會迅速減少在阿富汗的駐軍，

without securing lasting peace. 文法

而無法確保持久的和平。

What's absolutely important is that 文法

絕對重要的是

the Americans and the international community are patient

美國人和國際社會要保持耐心，

and they encourage a power-sharing agreement in Afghanistan between the Afghans, 用詞

他們應當鼓勵在阿富汗的各方之間達成權力分享協議，

between the Taliban,

包括塔利班在內，

that isn't cobbled together in a few months. 片語動詞

這不是在幾個月內就能匆忙拼湊出來的。

But does the Trump administration have the will to do it? 片語搭配

但是川普政府有這個意願去這麼做嗎？

If you enjoyed this film,

如果你喜歡這部影片，

you can find more Economist coverage on Afghanistan in the links below.

你可以在下面的連結中找到《經濟學人》關於阿富汗的更多報導。

To stay tuned for more Economist films,

想繼續關注更多《經濟學人》的影片，

click subscribe.

請點擊訂閱。

Thanks for watching.

感謝觀看。