駐阿富汗美軍司令呼吁美國增兵

The US needs to commit several thousand more troops to Afghanistan in an effort to break the “stalemate” there, according to the top American commander in the country, potentially presenting President Donald Trump with his first major military decision.

美國駐阿富汗最高指揮官表示，美國需要向阿富汗增派數(shù)千名士兵，以努力打破那里的“僵局”，這可能讓唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)總統(tǒng)做出第一個重大的軍事決定。

John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, told the Senate armed services committee the western coalition of troops that remained in the country had a “shortfall of a few thousand”.

美國駐阿富汗部隊指揮官約翰•尼科爾森(John Nicholson)告訴參議院軍事委員會(Senate Armed Services Committee)，留在阿富汗的西方聯(lián)軍存在“幾千人的缺口”。

Mr Trump has so far said very little about his plans for Afghanistan, America’s longest war. From a peak of more than 100,000 US troops in the country in 2011, 8,600 remain in place.

迄今為止，特朗普幾乎還沒有談及他對阿富汗問題的計劃。阿富汗戰(zhàn)爭是美國所打的時間最長的戰(zhàn)爭。2011年，美國駐阿富汗軍隊達到逾10萬人的峰值，如今只剩下8600人。

Afghan government forces control about two-thirds of the country and have in recent months come under pressure from Taliban militants in several major cities, including Kunduz, which the Taliban nearly over-ran last year. Taliban attackers were beaten back by a heavy US-Afghan counterattack but the battle claimed the lives of 33 civilians, according to a US military investigation.

目前，阿富汗政府部隊大約控制了該國的三分之二的國土，但最近幾個月在昆都士(Kunduz)等幾座主要城市遭到塔利班武裝力量的壓力。去年，塔利班差一點攻占了昆都士。塔利班進攻部隊被美國和阿富汗的大舉聯(lián)合反擊擊敗，但據(jù)美國軍方調查，這場戰(zhàn)斗奪去了33名平民的生命。

The Afghan administration is also struggling to defeat militants from other organisations, including Isis. This week Isis claimed responsibility for a suicide attack outside the supreme court in Kabul that killed at least 20 people.

阿富汗政府也很難擊敗來自伊斯蘭國(Isis)等其他組織的武裝分子。本周，伊斯蘭國宣稱對在發(fā)生在喀布爾的最高法院外面的一次自殺式襲擊負責。至少有20人在那次襲擊中喪生。

On Thursday Mr Trump spoke by telephone to his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani. According to the White House the US president “emphasised the ongoing importance of the US-Afghanistan strategic partnership”.

周四，特朗普與阿富汗總統(tǒng)阿什拉夫•加尼(Ashraf Ghani)進行了電話交談。白宮稱，當時這位美國總統(tǒng)“強調了美阿戰(zhàn)略伙伴關系的一貫重要性”。

General Nicholson suggested in his testimony to the Senate that he thought Mr Trump might be willing to increase troop numbers in the country, despite his previous criticism of US wars in the region.

尼科爾森在給參議院的證詞中暗示，他認為特朗普或許愿意增加駐阿美軍人數(shù)，盡管特朗普以前對美國打阿富汗戰(zhàn)爭提出了批評。

He also suggested James Mattis, the US defence secretary, might visit Afghanistan in the coming weeks.

他還暗示，美國國防部長詹姆斯•馬蒂斯(James Mattis)或許會在未來幾周內訪問阿富汗。

In separate written testimony, meanwhile, Gen Nicholson criticised Russia — with which Mr Trump is keen to pursue closer relations — for strengthening the Taliban and undermining Nato in the country.

同時，在另一份書面證詞中，尼科爾森批評俄羅斯在阿富汗加強了塔利班，削弱了北約(Nato)。目前，特朗普正熱衷于拉近美國與俄羅斯之間的關系。