美国官员称与塔利班的会谈使双方接近结束阿富汗战争

US Official: Talks with Taliban Bring Sides Closer to Ending Afghan War

The United States official working to bring peace to Afghanistan says “significant progress” was made during his latest talks with the Taliban.

U.S. special representative Zalmay Khalilzad reported the progress after holding six days of talks with Taliban representatives in Qatar. Before going to Qatar, Khalilzad met with Afghan government officials.

"Meetings here were more productive than they have been in the past,” Khalilzad wrote on Twitter as he prepared to fly back to Afghanistan. He added: "We will build on the momentum¹ and resume talks shortly. We have a number of issues left to work out."

The goal of the talks is to reach a peace deal agreed to by all sides. The U.S.-led Afghan war was launched shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. The military action was aimed at ousting² the Taliban from power. U.S. officials accused the group’s leaders of providing support to al-Qaida leader Osama bin³ Laden⁴ and his followers⁵.

Khalilzad met in Kabul Sunday with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. In a statement, the president’s office said the U.S. diplomat⁶ had shared details about his talks with the Taliban. It said Khalilzad held discussions with the Taliban on a cease-fire, but that he reported no specific progress on the issue.

Khalilzad wrote on Twitter Saturday that any agreement must include details relating to a “comprehensive cease-fire.” The New York Times reported him as saying a peace deal could lead to a full pullout of U.S. troops in exchange for a cease-fire and Taliban talks with the Afghan government.

Taliban fighters have been carrying out near-daily attacks on Afghan security forces. President Ghani said last week that about 45,000 security force members had been killed since he took office in 2014. The Taliban currently controls about half the country’s territory.

Ghani spoke⁷ about the peace talks in a message to the Afghan people Monday.

“Our commitment is to provide peace and to prevent any possible disaster,” he said. The president added that any peace agreement should respect the government’s “national unity⁸ and national sovereignty.”

During his address, Ghani noted⁹ that U.S. and other foreign forces remain in the country because they are still needed. He said if there is to be any force reductions or pullout, the Afghan government will have to be involved in those discussions. He also repeated a call to the Taliban to agree to hold “direct talks with the Afghan government.”

The U.S. military has about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan. About 8,000 troops from 38 other countries are also involved in the effort, which is largely directed against al-Qaida and the Islamic State.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

significant – adj. important

momentum – n. the force that something has when it is moving

resume – v. to start again

comprehensive – adj. including everything

sovereignty – n. a country's independent power and the right to govern itself

1 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

2 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

3 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

4 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

5 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

6 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

7 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。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。